


Ponds Don't Run

by TheDarknessFactor



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-11-28
Packaged: 2017-12-26 12:43:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarknessFactor/pseuds/TheDarknessFactor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Time Lords were victorious, and now hold the universe in their grasp.  Rose Tyler's fighting a revolution and the Doctor is nothing more than a myth.  Then Melody Pond meets Oswin Oswald on the local prison planet - and that's when everything changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I guess I did end up deciding to post my in progress fic here. I have a thing for AU fics with rather complicated plots. Hope you enjoy this one!

 

The girl's parents watched with twin expressions of fear.

She marched in the direction of the TARDIS with her head held high, her shoulders rolled back, and a stiff upper lip.  Every inch of her posture conveyed pride and an unwillingness to show herself as defeated, and to them that only made it worse.

She was doing it for them, they knew.  Showing no fear— refusing to let any emotions get the best of her in an attempt to reassure her parents.  Her mother had always told her that she was a good girl, and a good girl she had been.  At least, until she got caught.  Now they were watching her walk away from them, like she was merely going away to university, all the while knowing that it was the last time.

She didn't look back.  They didn't look away.  The guards flanking her didn't look around.  The other prisoners joining the cue looked down.

The rising sun to their left seemed to mock them, because how could something be so beautiful when their daughter was being taken away?  No one knew what happened to prisoners that vanished into the law enforcement TARDISes.  It was one of the many mysteries of their high-and-mighty dictators, and one of the many things that caused resent among humanity.  Not enough resent to spark a revolution (there would never be enough of _that),_ but enough that grumbling ensued among those still on planet Earth.

The morning light bounced brilliantly off of her rust colored hair.  The mother choked back a sob at the sight, managing to stay stoic— the way she knew that her daughter wanted her to be.

She was near the doors, now.  Not once had she bowed her head.  The father reigned in his bitterness.

They stayed until the time ship faded completely, bearing their daughter into the unknown.  The sun had come up, but an even greater light had gone out.


	2. Chapter One: Angels and Baravan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> It occurred to me that as the prologue is not very long, I should probably post something else as well. In case people are curious. Hope you like it! 
> 
> Also, since I like to make obscure references that no one understands - EAT BREAD MAKE SANDWICHES!
> 
> That is all.

It wasn't the obnoxious alarm that jerked her awake— it was the cup of water that was thrown at her face.

Rose jerked up, spluttering. "Bloody- Mickey! The hell?"

About two seconds later, the shrieking in her ears registered, making her all but forget her soaked pillow.  Instantly she was on her feet, grabbing the knapsack that sat on the floor near her bunk bed.  This was their third evacuation in a month; she wasn't even sure if Torchwood had managed to find their next location yet.  Judging by the fact that no one was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, she'd say that they had.

"Where we headed?" she asked Mickey, just barely remembering to throw in a toothbrush.

"Dunno," he answered. "Jack told me that whatever set it off this time, it's a big problem.  We've gotta get to one of the two MCs before they decide to take everyone without us."

Rose nodded, packing her blaster as well before hoisting the bag over her shoulder.  She spun around to see that Mickey was ready to go as well, though he looked a bit more dignified than she did.  He was wearing his uniform, while she remained in her pink pajamas.

She frowned.  "Were you on watch?"

"Yeah.  Sorry about the water, by the way.  You sleep like a bloody log."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

They rushed out of the room into a crowd of personnel, all of whom were hurrying in the general direction of the bottom of the compound.  Rose opened her mouth to ask Mickey a question, but was cut off by a sudden tremor that hit the station.  It knocked several people off their feet; she barely managed to hang on by pressing herself against the wall.  Without warning, the alarms were cut off.

A wave of dread swept through her.  Well,  _that_ was new.  "Why've they stopped?"

Mickey shrugged, looking just as nervous as she did.

They kept moving, knowing that just because the alarms had quieted they weren't necessarily safe.  Confused faces surrounded her as Rose made her way to the stairs.  She kept her ears open for signs that something had gone wrong.  The floor shook beneath her again, and then the loudspeakers suddenly screeched, making both her and Mickey cringe and press their palms over their ears.

"...how this thing works... is it on?  Right, I'm gonna make this quick: get the hell out of here!  Weeping Angels have gotten in, and we all know what that means!"

Her mum's voice seemed to echo through the sterile hallway, freezing Rose in her tracks.  Blood pounded in her ears as she and Mickey exchanged glances.  Every other member of Torchwood stared up at the speakers on the wall, before someone let out a shout and all hell broke loose.

What was formerly a steady flow of rebels turned into a mad dash as people tried to get out.  Rose, on the other hand, shoved her way through in the other direction, ignoring Mickey's calls from behind her.  The crowd thinned quickly, mainly because the direction of the communications room was nearest to the surface— and therefore closest to the attack.     All she could think was  _no, no, no_ , and she raced to where she knew her mum was.

"Rose!" shouted Mickey, managing to grab her arm.  She shook him off and kept running, back up the stairs, crashing to the ground due to another tremor before jumping back up again.  The second time Mickey got her by the wrist, it was a bit harder to throw him off.  Frustration was driving her onward, so she nearly screamed in his face when he refused to let her go.

"We've got to get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving her, Mickey! You go, but I'm getting my mum!"

"She wouldn't want this," he said, brown eyes full of worry.  Rose stared at him, willing him to understand, before she yanked herself away and kept moving.  She heard a curse, then footsteps as he ran after her.  She couldn't help the small smile that worked its way onto her face.

Their latest headquarters were on an abandoned asteroid, where (she suspected) some sort of experiment had been carried out ages ago.  The Time Lords typically tried to avoid old human habitations— probably because they were considered beneath their station— so they were easily the best places to for Torchwood to stay.  Not to mention the fact that there were about a million different places where humans had lived at one point, so it wasn't hard to find new ones, either.  This one in particular had the bonus of being built underground.  The only problem was that underground was the last place where anyone wanted to be when the Weeping Angels were involved.

Rose rounded another corner and yelped when she came face-to-face with a demon, skidding to a stop.  She avoided putting an eye out on one of the outstretched hands of the Angel, being careful not to blink even once.  Mickey let out a low whistle next to her.

"Right.  As long as we look at it, it's just a statue.  It can't hurt us."

"Depends on how long they take to turn out the lights," Rose pointed out.

Mickey swore again.

"Okay."  He was keeping his eyes firmly on the Angel, so she risked looking over at his tight expression.  "You go on ahead and find Jackie. I'll stay here and watch this one."

Rose didn't like the sound of that.  "What if there are more of 'em?"

"I won't let them get past me."  He grinned at her, but Rose saw the nerves he felt.  Aware that they were crunched for time, she didn't argue any further and gave him a quick hug.

"Don't blink," she told him.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Taking a deep breath and trying not to think of how Mickey would be alone with the Angel, she hurried past.

***

The interior of the TARDIS felt wrong to Melody.

She'd heard enough rumors about Time Lords to know the TARDSISes were "alive", in a sense.  This, however, felt like any other plane, train, or car that she'd been in.  Only it wasn't nearly as nice as the bullet train that she'd once taken to France.  Best ditch day she'd ever had.

They'd been given black pants and black, long-sleeved shirts to wear before being told to go change.  Melody silently took in how sterile the corridor was and once again got a sense of wrongness from it all.  The outfit wasn't exactly ugly, but it made them all look like they were heading for a funeral.  Of course, it was perfectly possible that they were all going to their own funerals, so perhaps their garments fit perfectly with the atmosphere.  Her ponytail was neatly sliced off, leaving her dark red locks short and uneven, much like the other women on the prison ship.

They had been given no instructions on conduct before departing, but not a single person spoke.  After changing, they'd all been put into harnesses that gave them a view of the six Time Lords piloting at the console.  Melody sniggered inwardly, debating about whether or not she should yell, "You're doing it wrong!" just for the hell of it.  That probably wasn't the best idea ever, though, considering the stripe of pink that was on her breast pocket.

It was as though the realization of what had happened simply hadn't caught up with her yet.  She wondered if it ever would.

The journey took longer than she'd expected it to— weren't TARDISes supposed to be able to take someone somewhere almost instantly?— but once they embarked, they were told to exit in a single file line.  They weren't picky about the order that they went in, the reason for which turned out to be a little robot that zoomed around their heads, listing their crimes when the time came for them to step out the door.  Melody raised an eyebrow at some of the charges she heard.  All of them were exceptionally extreme (that was the only reason why Time Lords would send anyone to a prison planet), but she thought that the accusation of someone who tried to drown his world in ice cream to be a little much.

"Melody Pond," came the cool voice from the robot.  "Pink class. Attempted murder of the Counselor of the planet Earth.  Sentence: life on Baravan."

They all got life on Baravan.

_Sounds like the name of the book,_ she thought to herself, winking cheekily at one of the Time Lord guards, who gave no indication that he'd seen it whatsoever.  With that, she stepped out into her new life.

First impression: it smelled.

She guessed that that was the Raxacoricofallapatorian next to her, who she quickly tried to distance herself from.  It was like a scene from a Western, only with far greater amounts of other alien species.  Already this was a new aspect to her life; back in the 'legal world', as she'd started to dub it in her mind, members of different species were strictly segregated, not allowed to interact with one another.  She found it amusing that the Time Lords thought it was a good idea to lump all of the universe's greatest criminals on several designated planets in spite of that rule.  It was almost appealing to her.  Melody began walking down the street, taking in the ramshackle buildings and structures, many of which were unfamiliar.  The people, on the other hand, were not so unfamiliar, thanks to her studies.  Sontarans, Silurians, Ice Warriors, Judoon, humans... quite the motley crew.

She suddenly realized that no further instructions had been given to her.  What did that mean?  Now that she was here— now that she couldn't leave— she could do whatever she wanted?  Not much of a prison, was it?

"Are you just going to stand there?" came a bark behind her.

Melody turned around and found herself facing an angry-looking Sontaran.  They were probably bored without all of their rules of 'honor' and 'justice'.  It occurred to her that they wouldn't know what to do with themselves in a place like this, where lawlessness appeared to be law.  Her fists clenched slightly. Perhaps it was a prison, after all.

"Don't plan on it," she answered, deciding that today wasn't the best time for a fight.  She moved on, wondering how long the town went on.  Other questions were bouncing around her skull now: where did they get food from?  How come no one appeared to have any diseases?  Would she be able to find a place to stay, or would she have to sleep outdoors, at the risk of get gutted in her sleep?

She had no way of getting answers, so she kept walking.

She began to notice other details of Baravan, too.  The sky was overcast.  The temperature was right on the threshold between warm and cool.  There was a toothless man picking his nose on the porch of one of the buildings... lovely.

Melody was shoved from behind before she could take another step.  She swore colorfully, rolling over to see it was the same Sontaran as before.  Letting out an annoyed growl, she asked, "Do you  _want_ me to bash you on the skull? It's getting very tempting."

"Face me, boy!" he snapped.

Melody felt her face go blank.  "Now that's just asking for it."

Before she could make a decision about what to do, the Sontaran launched himself at her, his weight pinning her down.  She smacked him on the back of his neck, momentarily stunning him and enabling her to slide out from under him and get back on her feet.  Using peripheral vision, she could already see that a crowd was beginning to gather, calling out wagers over who would win.  Melody snorted, tossing her hair, but inwardly she knew that she stood little chance against a Sontaran, whatever martial arts lessons she'd had in the past.

"Strax!"

The sharp voice rang out, causing the Sontaran to freeze.  Melody raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips and seeing just who decided to interrupt.  Not that she wasn't grateful, but the comment about her being a boy still stung.

Her eyes landed on a tiny girl in the brightest red dress Melody had ever seen.  It was nearly blinding, compared to the drab colors that everyone else was wearing.  Complete with said dress was a utility belt, full of unusual gadgets that Melody suspected were from various time periods.  Her brown hair was long, but still cut jaggedly much like Melody's.

The two women appraised each other in silence, while the Sontaran protested.

"But I swore to challenge all with scarlet rank or higher!"

"Physical strength isn't everything, Strax."  The crowd began to disperse, muttering in disappointment that they didn't get their entertainment.  Melody raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Nice friend you've got here," she commented.

The girl shrugged.  "Sorry about him. Not the brightest bloke ever, but pretty dependable.  Most people who're challenged here run away from him, which means two things: you're new, and he called you a boy, didn't he?"

Melody's other brow climbed to join the first.  "Does he do that a lot?"

"Been with him... say, two years? He still doesn't know that I'm a woman. Oswin Oswald."

Melody couldn't help but grin slightly, noticing the way "Oswin"'s eyes shifted while she said this.  "That your real name?"

"Nope. Well, Oswald is.  Oswald for the win.  Oswin.  You learn to leave your old life behind here."

Melody was about to introduce herself when she saw the stripe that Oswin had on her dress.  Her breath caught in her throat.

Mauve.  Bloody hell.

She coughed a bit and moved her eyes elsewhere, hoping that Oswin didn't notice her slip up.  Judging by the expectant look the other woman was giving her, she was successful in covering it.  She strode up and held out a hand, which Oswin took.  "Melody Pond.  And that is my real name.  I'm a bit fond of it."

"Am I to assume that this is yet another one that is off limits?"  Strax looked disgruntled.

"You assume correctly," Oswin told him, not taking her eyes off of Melody.  "Look, I'm a bit of a sucker for the newbies.  You're welcome to stay with me for a bit, at least until you've gotten settled in.  Besides, I like you.  Not many people I like here."

"I'm flattered, really," Melody drawled, batting her eyelashes.  Ignoring her own trepidation as she glanced at the mauve stripe, she followed Oswin further into her new life on Baravan.

***

"And if you think for one second that I'm gonna blink, you can bloody well think again!"

Jack couldn't help rolling his eyes, careful to keep his gun trained on the Weeping Angel in case the creature succeeded in turning out the lights.  They were nearing their goal, if the way the light was flickering was anything to go by.  Jackie Tyler, not one to be put down by anything, had been spewing a nonstop stream of insults and challenges at the Angel in front of them, which merely bared its fangs at her in return.

Once Jackie paused for breath, Jack said, "Yeah, you're making such a difference there."

"I won't hear it from you, Jack Harkness!" she snarled, opening one eye and closing the other.  "What're you looking at, Stoneface?"

Just then, Rose skidded into the room, causing Jackie to shriek and Jack to almost pull the trigger in surprise.  He came close to blinking, trying to recover while Rose threw herself at her mom, sobbing with relief as she hugged her.

"You're okay!"

Jackie, if anything, just looked more livid.  "What're you doing here?  You should be gone by now!"

"I wasn't about to leave you—"

"Now you listen here—"

"It's  _Weeping Angels,_ mum—"

"Ladies, not the time," Jack cut in.  The light was getting dimmer, and he really, really didn't fancy being sent into the past to live out the rest of his days.  "Where's Mickey Mouse? I know he'd never let you go on your own, Rose."

She jerked her head at the door.  "Back the way I came, not too far.  He's watching another one of the Angels."

"Then we'd better hurry.  The lights aren't going to last much longer."

They ran out of the room, Jack slamming the door shut and magnetizing it using a device from his tool belt.  It wouldn't last forever, but it would hopefully be long enough to get back to Mickey and run for it.  He grinned at Rose while they sprinted, showing her what he had strapped to his wrist.

Her eyes narrowed, the fact that they were all out of breath doing nothing to dampen her disapproval.  "You got a Vortex Manipulator?  Were you pick-pocketing Time Agents again?"

"Maybe."  He winked.

"Where was your other hand?  Down their trousers?"

"Oi!" Jackie shouted.  "Not another word!"

Jack saluted her, before turning back to Rose and whispering, "I was actually handcuffed at the time."

When they reached Mickey, Rose hurried over to give him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Jack clapped him on the shoulder with a grin, before spinning to face the group as a whole, keeping the Angel in sight.  The lights at the far end of the corridor were going out one by one, even as he started to key in the coordinates to their destination.

"All right, everyone," he said, sticking out his left arm.  "Grab hold. We're getting out of here.  Ladies, try not to swoon at being able to touch the Harkness."

Rose, used to his flirting by now, didn't hesitate.  Both Mickey and Jackie, on the other hand, paused long enough to shoot glares at him before complying.  Jack felt another tremor through the floor, and knew that the real trouble was just arriving.  After all, wherever the Lonely Assassins were, the Time Lords weren't far behind.

He double checked to make sure everyone was ready, then pressed the button.

Immediately they were thrown into the whirl of color and time that was the Vortex.  It was never a pleasant experience, especially when a time traveler had three other people attached to them.  It felt as though every atom of himself was being pulled apart from one another.  Still, there was a kind of beauty in this form of travelling that it made it worth it— aside from the fact that it was Torchwood's only way of keeping ahead of the Time Lords.

A scream shattered the Vortex, then they suddenly landed.  Rose was pivoting wildly on her heels, eyes wide with panic.  Jack, momentarily disoriented from the travel, looked at Mickey in confusion.  They both realized at the same time that a member of their party was missing.

_"Mum!"_


	3. Chapter Two: What is Impossible?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am no longer obligated to wait to post the next chapter! Yay! 
> 
> Special thanks to Azzie for just being amazing. *Squishes*

"Thrift Shop? Really?"

Oswin craned her neck to scowl at her.  "This happens to be my favorite song."

"It's kind of old," Melody muttered.  "Rap was, like, twenty years ago.  Don't tell me you're a fan of pop, too."

"Don't you  _dare_ diss Adele."

"No, she has class."  Or had, if she hadn't died in a car accident.

Melody wandered the room, taking in the numerous tools that were on the wall.  Half-finished machines and other projects were strewn about on work tables, and the only source of light came from the desk lamp near where Oswin was trying to clear some space.  She had to admit to being impressed; it wasn't often that such workshops belonged to women of Oswin's age.  She wouldn't mind trying to learn a thing or two about the mechanics of her projects, even though her primary interest had always been in history and alien species.

"Do you tinker a lot?" she asked.

"Not much else to do," Oswin replied, huffing as she lifted up a large steel pipe.  Melody hurried over to help her.  "It keeps me sane, at least.  I build things, then I usually test them out on the outside of town.  You're welcome to come with me sometime, if you like."

"Sure."  Melody wasn't sure how long she'd be staying there, but it might be worth it.  She stood back again as Oswin continued to try to straighten up (really though, she was only succeeding in making it worse).  Her eyes once again wandered to the mauve that seemed to stick out like a sore thumb, clashing against the vibrant red of her dress.  She looked down at her own pink stripe, which, while appearing somewhat threatening before, seemed pale in comparison— literally.

"Okay," Oswin said, dusting off her dress.  She pointed at the space she'd cleared.  "I can put the extra mattress here, if you don't mind sleeping in this room.  There isn't really enough room in the back— that's where I sleep.  They should be doing food drops in about half an hour."

The mention of food made Melody's stomach growl, but she was also reminded of her numerous questions.  "Food drops?"

"Best part of the day."  Oswin's smile gave away her sarcasm.  "Their ships literally rain down packages on us.  Basically, grab only as much as you need and get out of there fast.  It turns into a piranha feeding frenzy soon enough.  You do  _not_ want to be wrestled to the ground by a Judoon."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Thankfully, no.  Strax, on the other hand..."

Melody found herself laughing, but awkwardly cut herself off when Oswin didn't join in.  The other woman appeared to be lost in thought, eyeing her stripe.  Given that Oswin was blatantly staring at her color, she chose to blatantly stare at the mauve, knowing that this time Oswin would almost certainly notice.  She felt the urge to say something, but instead of asking about what Oswin had done, she asked, "Where did you get the dress?  And the tools?  Where does anyone get  _anything,_  here?"

It took Oswin a few moments to shake herself out of her stupor.  "Sorry, what?"

Melody repeated the question a bit impatiently.

"Oh."  Oswin looked nonplussed, but then the cynical smile settled on her face again.  "The planet's a dumping ground."

"For prisoners, yeah, I already knew that."

"No, I mean it's literally a dumping ground."

Melody stared at her, mind racing.  Unable to help herself, she hurried back out the front door, taking another long look outside.  For the first time, she noticed all of the trash that seemed to be littering the ground— the wrappers, the cans, the rusting bits of metal poking out of the dirt.  She looked left and right, noting that this trend continued up and down the street.  The other prisoners had made a habit of trying not to trip over all of the junk.

"The more recent piles are outside of the civilizations," Oswin told her, moving to stand to her left.  "But all kinds of stuff lands here.  You aren't too far in the future to know that saying— 'One man's trash is another man's treasure', and all that."

"Yeah, I still hear that one.  I'm only from 2033."  Melody shut the door, suddenly a bit overwhelmed.  She'd hoped to avoid the part where the reality of her situation crashed into her, but it looked like it was coming.  "You?"

"2013," Oswin said.  Her tone was casual, but there was something about the way her voice went almost completely dead that made Melody uneasy.  "Been here about three years.  I've known Strax for two of those, like I said."

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but Melody held in her curiosity.  She helped Oswin get the mattress in place before the two of them exited Oswin's little workshop to wait for the food drop.  She watched others gather in various spots in the town, waiting for the moment to come as well.  She was relatively certain that she didn't need to take a whole lot— most likely she would have to get used to sustaining a smaller diet anyway.  She toyed with the idea of asking how time worked on Baravan, but decided that that was a question for another time just as packages started to hit them from above.

Oswin darted out, Melody close on her heels.  They each grabbed one package.  Melody, assuming that was enough, made to return, but Oswin grabbed a second and shoved it in her arms.  "You have to adjust slowly," she warned her, before all but dragging her back inside.  They slammed the door shut behind them, muffling the howls and shouts of other prisoners.  Her heart was pounding from the adrenaline, but she wasn't afraid, surprisingly.  She was almost... excited.

"That was it?" she asked.

"As long as you're quick, yeah."

They ate in silence.  Melody asked where Strax lived if not there, to which Oswin explained that he preferred to wander and challenge people to fights during the day before sleeping in front of the door at night.  Apparently, he refused to allow himself any measure of hospitality from Oswin, no matter how much the woman told him he was welcome to it.

"I think he's been here longer than I have," Oswin commented, chewing thoughtfully on her bread.

Each package, Melody discovered, contained food required for the different species.  Fortunately, because there were several different prison planets, the Time Lords didn't have to feed every single alien species, so the packs weren't too large.  The human food consisted of bread and celery sticks, along with a can of water.  It wasn't horrible or anything, but Melody found herself missing her father's cooking.

"You're probably wondering how time works here," Oswin said, brushing the hair out of her eyes.  "See, it's kind of like Baravan's got its own little time bubble.  The Time Lords are always very careful to make sure that whenever they arrive with a new shipment of prisoners, it's after the last one.  I don't think they're quite as careful with the trash dumpings, but then junk doesn't necessarily have the power to alter the planet's history.  They keep things linear as possible— probably to avoid some kind of incursion."

"Has anyone ever gotten out?"

Oswin's eyes snapped over to her.  "I know what you're thinking, and no.  Not yet, anyway."

Intrigued, Melody leaned forward.  "I heard a 'yet' somewhere in there."

"Maybe you did."  Oswin smirked.  "Can't make any promises though.  I've got a few ideas, but they're all really far-fetched."

She changed the subject after that, which Melody didn't protest against in spite of her wanting to know more.  They talked about everything and nothing.  About their likes and dislikes, the differences in their time periods.  Melody reminisced about her parents and old friends, still unable to accept that she was never going to see them again.  It still felt like she could wake up the next day and they would be in the kitchen, making tea like they did every morning before her dad went to work.

Oswin described her mother's career as a botanist with a look of utter adoration on her face.  It occurred to Melody that that was the first sign of positive emotion she'd gotten from her host.

"You must miss her," she said.

The falter in Oswin's smile was so small that she almost didn't see it.  "Yeah," she said.  "Yeah, I do."

***

"I don't even know where we are!" Jack exclaimed, frustrated and jabbing at the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator.

Rose circled around the room, just as frustrated but aware that panicking wouldn't help find her mother, much as she wanted to.  They were in some kind of circular room, strewn with various advanced computers and two doors.  Both doors had wheels for opening them, but neither of them budged when she tried them.  Mickey was trying to get the computers back online, with no luck thus far.  Rose had attempted to use her wristcom to see if she could contact her mother, but again failed.  Either she wasn't anywhere near them, or...

No.  No.

"Got a location," Jack said triumphantly, but his grin quickly turned into a scowl.  "Unknown?! What kind of complete and utter bull—"

"Cool it, Cheesecake," Mickey called, his expression grim.  "I don't have everything, but I've got some of the controls for this place back.  The doors should be working by now, and there's a sequence I can go through that would open up the ceiling.  Like an observatory, or something.  It could give us an idea of where we are."

Rose found herself nodding, though it felt like she was outside of her body.  "Let's see it, then."

Mickey typed furiously, and it occurred to Rose that he was just as torn up over Jackie as she was.  Sure, he pretended to be terrified of her mum (rightfully so), but they all knew that Jackie had only really insisted on working with Torchwood because her daughter was doing it as well.  In many ways, she was only a civilian, and therefore didn't deserve anything that happened to her.  The three of them exchanged glances with one another as the ceiling above them groaned and began to part, revealing a sight that made their jaws drop.

It was almost enough to make Rose forget their current predicament.

"Blimey," Mickey murmured.  Jack could only shake his head in disbelief.

Suspended above them, sucking greedily at the light that bled from around its edges, was a black hole.  It shouldn't have been possible; Rose knew all too well that they were supposed to be dead if they got that close to such an anomaly, yet there they were.  Alive, safe in a man-made structure that, for all intents and purposes, appeared abandoned.  They had a breathable atmosphere and Rose didn't feel like all of the particles that made her up were being stretched to the limits.

"That's impossible," Jack said at last, voicing all of their thoughts.  "That has to be a view screen."

"Looks pretty real for a view screen," murmured Mickey.  Rose nodded in silent agreement.  She was transfixed by the beautiful, yet terrifying sight above them, when the thought of her mother cut across her wonder.

"Mickey," she said, "can you run a scan on this place for life forms?"

"No need," answered Jack, now examining his tablet.  "There was a large surge in artron energy not too long ago, on the other side of the compound.  That's our best chance of finding Jackie."

"Hold up." Mickey raised a hand, staring at one of the screen with frown on his face.  "I've got three other life-forms on here besides us."

"Three?" Rose wasn't sure what to make of that. One of them was (hopefully) her mother.  Another, much as she hated to think it, was probably one of the Weeping Angels; if one of the creatures had gotten a hold on her mother, it would explain their sudden arrival in this place.  The third, however, was anyone's guess.

"Well," Jack said breezily.  He tossed Rose one of his pistols, and she was suddenly reminded that she looked rather undignified in her PJs.  "Best way to find out is to go and say hello, right?  Mickey, where's the nearest?"

"I'm downloading a map now."

Each member of Torchwood had their own personal tablets that had been modified by their resident tech genius to be able to adapt to almost any computer in any time period.  What they had wasn't nearly as advanced as Time Lord tech, but it was enough that they were able to get information no matter where in time and space they were.  Rose pulled out her own in time to see that Mickey had sent her a message with the map of the facility attached to it.  She nodded at him in thanks.

"Let's get moving," she said.

The passages through the compound were full of wires, panels, and numerous twists and turns.  Life-form number one was in another of the observation areas, which was in what was labeled Section 6.  While the compound didn't appear to be very large on the map, they found that it took them a long while to reach their destination.  During that time, Rose found herself rubbing her hands on her forearms numerous times and glancing around nervously.  She couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being keenly observed.

Still, they reached the observation area without incident.  She pressed herself on one side of the door while Jack did the same on the other, both of them locking eyes before Jack mouthed, 'Go', and she turned the wheel to open it with all her might.

They waited, tensed up, for any sign of enemy fire.  Rose wasn't expecting any, but it was basic Torchwood procedure to do so, and old habits died hard.  She indicated that she intended to go first.  Jack nodded, but judging by the slight scowl on his face, he was none too happy about it.

The moment she stepped into the room, her eyes were riveted to the Weeping Angel in the middle of it.  It appeared to be lunging for her, but the look on its face was pained rather than threatening.  Rose wondered at this.  There didn't appear to be anything else in the room, and the door had opened without much trouble now that Mickey controlled the system.

So why hadn't it come after them?

"Clear," she called.  "Just don't blink."

Quiet footsteps indicated that Mickey and Jack were edging into the room behind her.  Like her, they both noticed that something was wrong.

"Electricity seems to be fine, and it hasn't tried to come after us," Mickey reported, looking down at his tablet once more.  His tone was anxious.  "It looks almost..."

"Afraid?" Rose finished.

"Yeah.  Like it's trying to escape from something."

Something cold slithered down her spine.  If the Weeping Angel was scared... "Where are we? Do we have any other information on this place?"

She and Jack kept their eyes on the Angel while Mickey read aloud from his tablet.           "The planet's called Krop Tor, nicknamed the 'Impossible Planet'.  The crew here were a mix of human and Ood.  They were trying to find out how, exactly, the planet stays still when it's right next to a black hole, and they discovered that there's some kind of energy source at the center of the planet.  They were drilling for it when the reports just... stopped."

"Abandoned research facilities with mysterious disappearances," muttered Jack.  "My favorite."

"Whatever happened here, the Angel knows something about it," Rose noted.  "Do me a favor and close your eyes, yeah?"

"Rose—"

"Don't even think—"

"I'm just going to blink," she explained, exasperated.  "It'll be instantaneous.  Look, we can all stand over by the door, if that makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't!" said Jack.

"If I'm right, we'll be perfectly fine," she retorted.  "And it'll mean we can keep looking for my mum."

Neither of them had any more protests to offer against that reasoning.  The three of them backed away from the statue to the door they'd come through, and both Jack and Mickey obediently shut their eyes, leaving Rose as the only one still watching the Angel.           Rose swallowed; the fear of the Lonely Assassins was something taught to her as a child— to all of them as children.  Fear, according to her trainer, kept them alive in the face of the Angels.

Still, her mother was alone somewhere in this place.  She needed to make sure it was safe to look for her.

Taking a deep breath, she blinked, and...

...it  _had_ moved.  Not any closer, though; just so that it was facing them.  Rose was perplexed by its expression.

"Eyes open," she ordered quietly.  "Does it look like it's... asking for help?"

Because one of its arms was outstretched towards them and the fangs were gone.  The pained look remained, this time directed at them, like it was begging.  The only thing that would have convinced Rose more would be if it had gotten down on one knee.

It unnerved her, and she didn't miss the tension in Jack and Mickey's frames.

"Well, even if it was, how would we be able to help it?" Mickey asked.

_Good question,_ Rose thought.

"I can stay here to watch it while you two keep looking for Jackie," volunteered Jack.  "Doesn't seem like it's able to pose much of a threat, but you never know."

Rose knew better than to argue with Jack when he had  _that_  expression on his face, so she merely nodded her assent.  She and Mickey left the room.  She couldn't shake off the feeling that they were making a mistake, but there weren't any other options, and delaying wouldn't keep her mum any safer.

The compound was eerily silent.  Their footsteps echoed through the passages, but other than that there was no sign of anyone else.  That didn't bode well for Jackie, but according to the map the other two life signs weren't moving, so if made sense that there wouldn't be any noise.  Rose took comfort in the knowledge that, at the very least, the two life signs were still transmitting at all.

"The next one's in the Ood holding area," Mickey announced.  "Funny, that.  Part of the report claimed that the Ood all went berserk before the crew vanished."

Rose tightened her grip on her pistol and was once again first to enter the room.  They came out on the observation deck, which had a single set of stairs descending to the holding section.  She sucked in a breath at the sight that greeted them.

The walls were lined with benches.  Seated on those benches, staring straight ahead of one another like they were in a trance, were about thirty Ood.  She heard Mickey choke behind her, as though he had barely kept himself from shouting out in alarm.  And there, right in the middle of all of the Ood and shaking like a leaf, was her mother.

Afraid to disturb the Ood (who appeared to be sleeping), she waved frantically at Jackie, who didn't seem to notice.  Mouthing a curse at Mickey, who grimaced back at her, she carefully made her way down the steps.  She determinedly ignored the way the hairs on the back of her neck rose as she passed by the first of the Ood.  They still didn't move, but she felt as though they were looking right at her.   _Something_  was watching her— of that, she was certain.

Questions whirled through her mind as she reached her mum: why weren't the Ood transmitting life signs?  They didn't look dead.  And if they weren't dead, then why weren't they reacting to her presence or her mother's?  Deciding not to question a bout of good luck when it came her way, Rose grabbed her frozen mum's arm and began guiding her back to Mickey who gestured frantically for them to hurry up.  Jackie seemed to come to life somewhat, taking steps along with Rose.

Once they were back at the top— and safe, Rose hoped— her mum sagged a bit.

"How are they able to hide their life signs?" Mickey hissed.

Rose shrugged. "I think we need to check out that third signature," she whispered as quietly as possible, glancing nervously at the Ood.  "It might be—"

"The Beast welcomes you to his domain."

Jackie let out a shriek and Rose nearly jumped a foot in the air, while Mickey dropped his tablet on his foot and started swearing.  All three of them fixed their gazes on the suddenly-active Ood, all of whom were standing and facing them.  Their eyes glowed a blood red.

"Are Ood supposed to do that?" asked Mickey, voice a bit shaky.

"Don't think so." The Ood began to move forward, their steps perfectly in time with one another.  Rose was about to pull both of her companions out with her, but some unseen force seemed to have rooted her to the spot.  Her muscles screamed for her to leave, but she could only watch helplessly as the aliens mounted the stairs, getting nearer and nearer to their position—

A warm hand enclosed Rose's, and she was whirled around to face a pair of blue eyes.

"Run."

She did.

***

"Night's falling," Melody murmured.

"Yes, it does tend to do that."

She shot a dirty look at Oswin, who smirked back.  "You know what I mean."

"I've heard about planets that have no nighttime, yeah," her housemate said.  "Never been to one.  It'd be cool.  I'd get my digital camera and take some pictures, show them to Mum and Dad.  Maybe meet the locals.  Make some friends."

Melody didn't say anything, but she thought that the last bit seemed unlikely.  Oswin was very talkative, but she hardly communicated with anyone except for Strax and Melody herself.  This led her to wonder why Oswin had even reached out to her at all.

She wrapped her hands around her tin cup of water, shivering a little as the cool breeze hit her shoulders.  They were out on the porch, watching as the stars began to appear in the sky.  The town was still as busy as ever, though, and Melody noticed that some aliens were only just beginning to emerge.  They were probably nocturnal.  She absently brushed her hair behind her ear, still not used to the length.

Oswin began pointing out some of Baravan's constellations, reminding Melody of when she would do the same as a little girl, giggling over Orion while her mother and father teased her.

After Oswin finished explaining the Stooped Sontaran, Melody remembered what Oswin had said earlier.  She said abruptly, "I'm going to get out of here."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Okay.  And how do you plan to do that?"

Melody looked at Oswin and saw that the other woman had one side of her mouth quirked up in amusement.  For some reason, though, she got the sense that Oswin wasn't mocking her.

"I dunno yet," she answered.  "But I'm going to.  I'm going to see my family again.  Sure I could make some kind of life here, but it's still a kind of wasting away for me."

Oswin was quiet for a moment.

"I'd like to see them too," she said at last, not looking at Melody.  "My family, I mean.  It'd be good... I mean, I'd like to."

Neither of them said anything else that night.  They didn't dare acknowledge that their hopes were far-fetched.  Melody was well aware that no one had ever escaped one of the Time Lord prison planets and knew that her wish was unlikely to be granted, but it was her only thing to hold onto in this place.  Maybe someday, if she grew to care for someone enough, she would be able to give up that hope and life out her life on Baravan.  Until then, however, she had to do  _something._

She drained the last dregs of her water, and then turned in for the night.


	4. Chapter Three: Unconscious Persuasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we have Chapter 3. I'm really glad that these chapters are pre-written... otherwise they wouldn't be getting posted at all. I have virtually zero free time.
> 
> But! Somehow I'm working on another project. That won't interfere with the posting of Ponds Don't Run, though, because I still have about five other pre-written chapters.
> 
> Also: RAIN GODS! Loved it. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it noooooow.
> 
> Thanks to Azzie for her continuing, wonderful support.

Rose barely had time to breath, much less think.  She could see the back of someone's head and a leather jacket, but was unable to focus on much else.  Her ears registered Mickey and Jackie's footsteps pounding along behind them as they tried to escape the Ood.  She managed not to stumble, although the hand continued to tug her along insistently enough that she was afraid she would.

Finally they emerged into what looked like a control room, with Mickey whipping around to slam the door shut behind him.  He spun the wheel several times to seal it, then raced to one of the consoles in order to lock the doors completely.  Rose managed to shake herself out of her stupor; spinning around, she pulled out her gun again and leveled it at the stranger, unwilling to trust anyone that they found in this place.

"Oi."  He scowled at her. "Really?  I'm not a fan of guns."

"Neither am I," Rose replied evenly, "but they do come in handy sometimes.  Who are you?  How are you here?"

"It's always that question," he mumbled.  Mickey, finished with his task, came to stand beside Rose while Jackie sat heavily in one of the chairs, still looking shell-shocked by her encounter with the Ood.

"This place is s'posed to be abandoned," said Mickey.  "How do we know you aren't on their side?"

" _Their_ side?  The Ood are possessed."

Rose didn't move, but she couldn't help but feel as though they could trust him.  She used the pause in conversation to observe him more fully now that she had her wits back about her.  He was tall, with closely cropped hair and the blue eyes that she'd noticed earlier.  She wondered now why they had been so distinct; at the moment, they didn't seem all that remarkable.  Leather jacket, trousers... he looked like the kind of guy that Rose would occasionally see wandering around London at later hours.  Back when she actually  _lived_ in London, anyway.

The man sighed.  "Okay.  I'm investigating the disappearances.  Happy?"

"Frankly?  No," said Rose.

"Tough crowd," he muttered.  "Ah, well.  Can't say I'd be happy if there were possessed Ood chasing me, either.  Oh, wait.  They are chasing me.  Great.  I'm the Doctor, by the way, nice to meet you."

"The Doctor?" Rose repeated skeptically.  "Doctor who?"

Was it just her, or did a shadow pass over his face at her words?  It was gone in the blink of an eye.  "Doctor Smith.  That's me.  Hello!"

"Blimey, how many Smiths are there?"  That was her mum.  She looked to finally be coming back to herself, standing and glaring at Dr. Smith.  "I'd say shoot him, but I know you don't fancy doing that, Rose."

"Rose, eh? Lovely name."  Suddenly he was bouncing up and down on his feet, grinning like an idiot.  He held out a hand for her to shake, completely ignoring the fact that Rose was still pointing her gun at him.  She raised an eyebrow at his audacity and resisted the sudden urge to giggle.

 _The hell?_ She was a soldier.  Giggling wasn't a part of her repertoire anymore.

"Dr. Smith—" she began.

"On second thought, just call me 'Doctor'.  That okay?"

"Fine,  _Doctor,_ " she said, though it was getting more and more difficult to stay irritated with him.  "Do you have a spaceship?  Why are you investigating what happened here?"

He sighed, before fishing around in his pockets and pulling out what looked like a simple notepad.  He flipped it open and held it in front of her and Mickey.  "These are my credentials.  Everything should be in order."

There was a pause. Mickey cleared his throat.  "Well, those look fine—"

"It's blank."

Everyone's eyes turned to Rose, but she kept her gaze (and gun) on the Doctor.  She wasn't sure why Mickey had been so ready to believe him.

"Sorry?"  The Doctor was giving her an assessing look.

"What d'you expect to accomplish with a blank piece of paper?  Thought if you were quick enough I wouldn't notice?"

"Rose, what're you talking about?" asked Mickey, frowning at her.  "It's all there."

"Never thought I'd say this, but Mickey's right," Jackie said.  Rose's jaw dropped, because the day her mum agreed with one of the boys she hung out with was the day the universe imploded.  "It looks pretty official to me."

Both of the Doctor's eyebrows were up. He gave a low whistle and pocketed the pad of paper.  "Nope, you're both stupid.  Rose, you are very good at this and I'm sorry for trying to trick you at all.  Psychic paper.  Makes people see what I want them to see.  Well, most people.  There are some who see more clearly than others."

"What, so it really  _was_  blank?" Mickey looked about ready to hit the Doctor.  "You—"

"Stand down," Rose ordered suddenly.  Making a decision that she had a feeling she'd regret, she holstered her gun.  She didn't know why, but for some reason her gut was telling her to trust the man in front of her.  Her gut had saved her life and her mother's on her eighteenth birthday, and it had never failed her since.  She pulled out her tablet to confirm what she already suspected: that the third life form was the one standing before her.  The other one— the Angel— was still in the room where they'd left it, along with Jack's signature.

"What are you doing?" hissed Mickey.

Rose waved a hand to shush him.  "What do you know about this place?"

"We can't trust him!" Jackie exclaimed.

"Look," said Rose. "We're on an unknown planet which, for some reason, hasn't been sucked into the black hole nearby.  There are crazy Ood running around, the Weeping Angel that caught a ride with us is actually  _afraid_ , and said Ood are between us and our route back to Jack, who happens to be our only way off this rock.  I don't know if we can trust him, but we don't have much choice right now."

"Weeping Angel?"  This time it was the Doctor's turn to look alarmed.  "There's an Angel here?"

"It followed us," Mickey explained, after shooting Rose an I-don't-like-this glare.  "That's why we ended up here in the first place."

Comprehension began to dawn in the Doctor's eyes.  "Torchwood," he murmured.  "Of course."

A loud bang on the door made Rose jump.  She whirled around, aware that nothing could get through the door, but also equally aware that they would probably be trapped soon.  The Ood were coming for them.

"We've gotta move," she said.  "Before they block all the doors."

"Jack's back there," Mickey pointed out.

Rose was already on it.  "Jack?" she said, after activating her wristcom.  She cursed when all she got in return was static.  "Bloody thing's still not working..."

"Let me." The Doctor was next to her all of a sudden, pointing some sort of device with a blue light at her wristcom.  After a few more bursts of static, she could hear her friend's frantic voice.

"...I don't know what it's doing, but it's covered in these symbols and— dear god, it can  _move._ Rose, I'm looking right at it,  _it can move!"_

Adrenaline surged through Rose, almost making her fling herself back the way they came, Ood or not.  As it was, all she could do was yell instructions.

"Jack, get out of there now!  Can you find another way to our position?"

"I'm already running, here!  I locked the door but it got through.  There's a rendezvous point, but I'm not about to let it get any of—"

"Oh shut up, and just tell me where!"

"I'm outlining a path on the map now.  We should be meeting up at the point where they were drilling."

"On our way."

Rose raced to the door, pulling it open to reveal yet another passage, but thankfully no Ood.  She pushed Mickey and her mother ahead of her, noticing that the Doctor was hanging back to run beside her.  She thought that maybe he was grinning.  It made her want to slap him a bit, but at the same time, she felt giddiness in her own stomach as well.

He kept glancing at her, like he wasn't quite sure that she was real.  There was a sadness in those glances that made his eyes look more like the way they did when she first saw them.  He would always quickly look away whenever she noticed, but was never quite fast enough to cover it.  Rose brushed it off for the moment, focusing on staying alive and finding Jack.

They turned another corner to find Jack sprinting towards them from the other way; Rose threw herself at him for a quick hug before stepping back.  "D'you know how it can move?"

"These weird looking symbols suddenly appeared on it.  It's not just that, though."  He nodded at Mickey and Jackie before continuing, trying to catch his breath.  "It's... worse, somehow.  Like before, when you're looking at a Weeping Angel, you just want to run in the opposite direction?  Now it's more like you want to curl up into the fetal position and never come out."

"A Weeping Angel is the most malevolent life form in the universe," the Doctor said, not sounding at all out of breath like the rest of them.  "There isn't anything worse than them."

"There is now," retorted Jack.  "Who the hell are you, anyway?  I mean, not that I mind.  Not bad at all, in the looks department."

"Jack, not now," said Rose, exasperated.  "We've got possessed Ood after us and a juiced up Lonely Assassin on its way.  We need to get out of here, now."

"Yeah, about that..." Jack winced at her glare.  "It's not my fault!  Whatever's happened to the Angel, its technology influencing capabilities have increased.  It fried my Vortex Manipulator."

Rose closed her eyes, trying desperately to think of a way to get them all out of this alive.  Whatever Torchwood protocol was, saving lives was her priority.  One thing that she retained from her life before her training.  They were all getting out of this, no matter what.

The only question was: how? How did she get them out?

She spun to face the Doctor.  "Where's your ship?"

"Ah... not accessible at this time."

Rose was ready to pull her hair.  "What do you mean, 'not accessible?'"

"Meaning, that the ground caved in where I landed it," he snapped.  His tone changed, became lighter.  "Mine shaft's working, though."

She stared at him blankly as she caught on to what he was suggesting.  Jack let out a groan a moment later as he, too, realized what the Doctor meant.

There were so many things wrong with said plan.  They didn't have time to put the needed spacesuits on.  They had no idea what was down there.  There was no guarantee that this would actually mean that they would get out of there safely.

"It'll buy us time," the Doctor pointed out.  "And if my hunch is correct, we'll be able to breathe down there."

It took yet another leap of faith, but Rose nodded.  "Okay. Let's go."

***

Melody shouldered the heavy equipment, noticing that the further they walked, the sparser and spread out the dwellings became.  She was grateful, since for a while it had seemed as though the town would never end.  Strax, on the other side of Oswin, was carrying the biggest load of all of them and grumbling about not being able to fight that day.  Oswin herself was carrying a little less than Melody; she didn't exactly have the brawn to match the brain.  What with her tiny figure, it was a wonder that she was able to carry anything at all.

When Melody had asked the woman who was, for all intents and purposes, her flatmate what exactly she was being shown, Oswin had grinned and claimed it was a surprise.  Surprisingly, she'd quickly found a way to 'pay off' her stay by helping Oswin in her shop.  It was almost alarming how quickly she picked up on the physics of everything the other woman built, but she wasn't complaining.  It was just unexpected, considering the fact that her primary interest had always been history.

If Oswin was shocked by her proficiency, she didn't show it.  In fact, she seemed delighted to have someone else to bounce technical jargon off of.  Within a few weeks, Melody had learned about everything from the basics of Newton's laws to the physics of the speed of light.  They were starting to delve into quantum mechanics, including Oswin's own theories on the subject and what she'd managed to learn from aliens who had come from the future.  Melody soon discovered that the idea of warp travel from Star Trek wasn't as far-fetched as she'd believed.

Her knowledge wasn't the only thing rapidly changing.  As the days went by and her diet became reduced bit by bit, coupled with the sometimes arduous work in Oswin's shop, she became leaner and harder.  That wouldn't have bothered her except for the fact that Strax kept forgetting that she was off limits for challenging to fights.  He assumed that she was secretly training to bring him down.  Melody usually answered his concerns by rolling her eyes, but if that didn't work, then she would threaten to tell Oswin.  For some reason, Oswin had garnered his eternal respect.

"He respects you too, you know," Oswin had told her.  "I don't think I've ever seen someone he's so determined to fight before."

"Any way I can get him to respect me a little less?" Melody had muttered in response.  Oswin had only laughed.

As they neared the edge of the town, Melody began to see just what Oswin meant.  The piles of refuse and junk towered over them, taller than most of the buildings in town.  She guessed that, if it weren't for the fact that they were constantly scavenged, they'd probably be taller than some of the skyscrapers on Earth.

Oswin finally called for them to set down the equipment.  Melody gingerly set hers on the ground next to Strax's before wandering over to the nearest pile, marveling at everything in it— from banana peels to what looked like an airplane turbine.  That wasn't even counting the objects that she couldn't identify, which she guessed were from alien worlds.

"Could you build a spaceship with this crap?" she asked.

"Easily," said Oswin, distracted by something on her device.  "There's probably enough to build a hundred ships."

Melody frowned.  Something about that was nagging her, but she didn't know what it was.  She stared at the pile for a few more moments before turning around and rubbing her hands together.  She quickly realized that she probably looked like a mad scientist doing that, and instead opting for brushing her hair out of her eyes.  One disadvantage of having shorter hair was that she once again had something resembling bangs.

That reminded her that she hadn't had a shower in a week.  She and Oswin were due to head for the river soon, but until then she had to grin and bear it.  Worse than that were her teeth; for some reason, toothbrushes were a bit more difficult to come by (Oswin said it was the size of them), so she and her flatmate were sharing.  It could've been worse, but they had no toothpaste.

"All right," Oswin chirped.  "Gonna need your help with this bit, Melody."

Together, they got out Oswin's improvised welding tool to fuse two parts together, while Strax sat on an old stool a few feet away, muttering under his breath.

Oswin straightened, letting go of the welder.  Melody sighed, looking at it in her hand.  "Reminds me.  I used a blowtorch."

"For what?"

"To try and kill Counselor Hartman."

It wasn't until she noticed Oswin staring at her that she realized what she'd said.  It had been an unspoken agreement between them not to tell what they did to warrant ending up on Baravan.  Melody felt her ears burn a bit, and her gaze shifted from the pink stripe on her shirt to Oswin's stare and back again.  Deciding that the cat was already out of the bag, she shrugged.

"Convicted attempted murderer, that's me.  Time Lords saw it coming, though, and stopped me."

Oswin stared some more.  Then...

"A  _blowtorch?_ Really?"

"I thought it was clever.  I wanted to burn her face off."

Melody busied herself with fiddling with the other parts of the device a bit, avoiding Oswin's eyes.  She didn't know what she expected to find there, but she didn't want to find out.

"It's just..." She looked up involuntarily at Oswin's quieter-than-normal voice and winced when she saw the worry there.  "I mean, murder.  You're a bit young to have that big of a grudge, aren't you?"

"I'm twenty-three," huffed Melody, placing her hands on her hips.  "You're one to talk, anyway.  Getting  _mauve_ and all.  How old are  _you?"_

            Oswin mimicked her position.  "Twenty-four.  Judge me by my size, do you?"

With that, the tension broke and they both dissolved into giggles at Oswin's terrible attempt at a Yoda impression.  Melody decided that she wasn't about to pester Oswin for why she was wearing mauve; it really wasn't any of her business.  It felt good to have Oswin know about her 'crime' anyway (though she didn't consider it as such).  Her flatmate didn't ask any more questions about it.

"So," said Oswin.  "What we've got here is sort of like a Geiger counter, only— if it works right— it should be able to read even the tiniest radio signal.  One of the biggest problems we've got on Baravan is communication.  It's an enormous planet.  It has to be, considering how many people they throw on it.  Thing is, we've no idea if there are even other cities on here or who lives there or where they would be.  So, if I can get a proper communication system, one day we might have something close to a proper civilization here."

Something nagged Melody at those words, similar to what had nagged her before when she was staring at the junk piles.  She shook it away, focusing on Oswin.  "What if no one else is building something like this?  And also, how do you know how big the planet is?"

"Basic calculations from looking at the amount of daylight— never mind that, we can go over it later.  If we find any unnatural radio signals at all, though, we can assume that someone somewhere is trying to communicate.  We might even be able to track it back to its source."

"Get in touch with them," finished Melody.

"Exactly."

Melody looked over at Strax, who had fallen asleep.  He'd been out later than usual.  She turned back to Oswin with a grin.  "Let's give it a shot."

Oswin returned her grin with an even larger one and practically bounced forward, pressing buttons and flipping switches on the cobbled together machine.  She and Melody bunched together in front of the screen as readings fizzled to life before their eyes.  They held their breath while it cleared enough for them to read.  Oswin pressed a few more buttons, teeth sunk into her bottom lip.

"Eight of them," she reported.  "Most of them natural.  Not much, is it?"

Melody could hear her previous enthusiasm waning away, which made her want to cheer her up.  She wrapped an arm around Oswin's shoulders and squeezed a bit while scanning the results again.  Something caught her eye.

"What's this?"

She pointed at a spot in the upper right hand corner.  Oswin frowned, leaning forward a bit to get a closer look.

"That can't be right..." she murmured.   "That's not like any kind of radio signal I've ever seen or studied before.  As far as I know, none of the technology on Baravan could produce it."

"Maybe it's from one of the TARDISes dropping off prisoners?"

"Must be."  Oswin continued to frown, though.

They wracked their brains for a few more minutes, trying to determine what it could be, before Melody glanced up at the sky and noticing how low the planet's sun was getting.  She nudged Oswin, becoming aware that her arm was still around her shoulder and quickly removing it.

"It's getting dark.  We should be heading back."

Oswin nodded and packed up without protest.  Strax didn't mind about being woken up (though he once again wanted to fight Melody for it), and they were soon heading back home.  The nagging thought that Melody had earlier was forgotten.

***

"We can breathe."  Mickey was finding more and more about this day hard to believe.  From possessed Ood to a Weeping Angel that could move even with another life form looking at it to being able to breathe deep within a planet that was near a black hole... it just didn't stop.  Not to mention the weird Doctor bloke, who hopped from mood to mood like a frog hopping on lily pads.

"Nice job stating the obvious, Ricky."  And then there was  _that._

"Could you at least get my name right?" he grumbled.  Jack's teasing he could put up with; they'd gotten each other out of close scrapes a few times and had respect for one another.  The Doctor, however, appeared to regard him as a complete idiot.

Said man didn't seem to hear his request.  He was busy craning his neck to look back up the mine shaft, aiming his strange device and whistling.  "Don't know about the Ood, but the Angel's following us down here."

"How has this helped us, exactly?" Jack asked.  "Hooray, it's a bunch of old ruins.  There's a great big hole in the middle of the floor that goes who-knows-how-deep and some very creepy looking statues.  Welcome to Satan's old cult hideout, everybody!"

"Doctor, does this have something to do with what's happened to the Angel?"  Rose seemed to be the only one left who was giving him a chance.  This irritated Mickey, but not so much that he was willing to go against her wishes.  He noticed that even Jackie was shooting their 'savior' glares about every five seconds— but then, that was Jackie.  Any male within five feet of her daughter got those looks.  Hell,  _he_ still did.

"Pretty sure it does," the Doctor said offhandedly.  "I think that whatever the explorers were digging for, they found.  And what they found somehow had a strong enough telepathic influence to turn the Ood against them.  Strong enough to allow a Weeping Angel to be controlled— to be able to  _move_ while someone's looking."

Rose's eyes narrowed.  "And you thought it would be a good idea to go looking for it."  It wasn't a question.

"Best way to stop something? Go to the source."  He spun suddenly and walked straight up to Rose.  Mickey's hand twitched towards his gun; he didn't like how close the Doctor was.  Rose, to her credit, didn't back down, staring straight into his eyes without flinching.  "You're very protective of the people around you, and that's admirable, Rose.  You don't take any chances when lives are involved.  You're a fantastic person for doing that.  But right now, if you want your crew to survive, then I need you to trust me.  Think you're up to it?"

The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife.  Mickey waited with bated breath and could see Jack doing the same, while Rose didn't move an inch, searching the Doctor's eyes.  Finally she gave a short nod, to which the Doctor suddenly beamed and planted a kiss on her forehead.  "Great!" He moved away quickly, over to the hole, but Mickey kept looking at Rose.  Maybe he was being paranoid, but was she blushing?

"Leap of faith number three," the Doctor announced, folding his arms and staring down the hole.  Just like that, he was frowning again.  "Not sure why... but I really don't want to go down there for some reason."

Mickey opened his mouth to make a snide remark when a wave of uneasiness washed over him so strongly that he felt nauseated.  He looked back at the hole, just to make sure there wasn't some kind of monster crawling up out of it.  He then checked behind him and let out an undignified yelp.

It was there.

He saw, now, what Jack had meant.  The Weeping Angel didn't have its usual feral face on; instead, it was wearing the most twisted smile he'd ever seen.  Jackie screamed at the sight of it.  Both Rose and Jack let out gasps.  The Doctor didn't react at all, still regarding the hole.

The symbols were just the way that Jack had described.  And it was, indeed, moving.  Not as quickly as it normally would without anyone looking, but the inexorable pace at which it was advancing had them all frozen.  Fear, like no other, was clawing at his insides and choking him up.  He'd take a whole army of normal Weeping Angels any day over that...  _thing_ that was in front of them.

"Doctor?" Rose managed to get out.

"Like a warning call..." the Doctor was murmuring.

_"Doctor!"_

"Right!" he shouted suddenly, startling Mickey.  The Doctor spun around to face the Angel, shot it a grin, and proceeded to shove them all into the hole.  Mickey didn't even have time to yell.

He couldn't tell how long they were all falling for.  It seemed to stretch on for an eternity, with the alarmed shouts of his friends and comrades ringing out around him.  After a while, the shouting became more of a reassurance that they were all still near one another than an involuntary reaction.  Finally he crashed into the ground, though not as hard as he'd been expecting for how far he'd fallen.  In fact, it almost seemed as though he bounced a bit before coming to rest.

"Everyone all right?" came the Doctor's voice.  Miraculously he still sounded chipper.  Mickey stumbled to his feet and helped Rose and Jackie up, both of whom were closer to him.  He turned in time to see Jack dusting himself off while the Doctor scanned the cave around them with his... tool.

"What is that, anyway?" asked Rose, as though she could read Mickey's mind.

"What, this?" The Doctor waved it around him.  "My sonic screwdriver."

At this Mickey felt himself freeze.  While they all began to follow the Doctor further down the tunnel ("The Angel might come down after us, so it's best to keep moving,"), he jerked his head over to one side of the cave at Jack, who gave a sharp nod and moved to stand next to him.

"You know I know a thing or two about tech," he muttered.

"Yeah, I know.  Why?"

"I've heard of all kinds of sonic devices.  Thing is, the only species that are legally allowed to possess them are Time Lords."

Jack was good at staying inconspicuous; he didn't move his head an inch to look at the Doctor.  "Makes sense.  I suspected it when I first heard you all calling him 'Doctor'."

"He told us he was Doctor Smith."

"Yeah, but the thing is that Time Lords take on titles.  His could easily be 'the Doctor' and he didn't want us to know that he's a Time Lord."

Something wasn't adding up in Mickey's mind.  "Wouldn't he just call for help?  What's he doing here all by himself?"

"Beats me."

There was a light approaching them from ahead, so Jack split from him and went back to walking next to the Doctor.  Rose hadn't made any note of Jack and Mickey speaking to one another, but the quick look she gave Mickey told him that she wanted to hear about it later.  He nodded his agreement at her, and she gave a small smile in return.  She seemed comfortable with trusting the Doctor for the moment, though, and Mickey almost felt bad about telling her of his conclusions.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, Mickey felt his jaw drop for the third time that day.  He wasn't even able to form the words that came to mind.

_What the hell is that?_

The monster above them was like something from a nightmare; it reminded him of the Balrog from Lord of the Rings.

"Nearly every civilization," began the Doctor, "has a religion where there is some kind of figure representing evil.  You lot— humans— probably know him better as Satan or the Devil.  Course, most of the time that's all it is.  A story.  The real monsters are the one that live inside people's heads.  At least, until now.  Those stories had to come from something, right?"

"That's the Devil?" whispered Jackie.

"No.  Were you even listening?" scoffed the Doctor.  "But it is something pretty close.  It has one of the strongest telepathic fields I've ever witnessed— that's how the Ood and the Angel are being manipulated.  I suspected that something like this was down here, at the center of the planet, but I wasn't sure until now.  Someone imprisoned it down here, with a failsafe— if it ever gets loose, it gets sucked into the black hole."

"I can't think of any civilization with those kinds of technological capabilities," Jack said, "and I used to be a Time Agent."

"This is long before anyone remembers," replied the Doctor.

"But it's gotten out now, hasn't it?" Rose asked.  "I mean, it's living in the Angel.  Like, sure it's scaring looking, but there isn't really anything  _threatening_ about it, you know?  So what happens if the Angel gets away?"

Casually, the Doctor answered, "It'll probably consume all the time energy in the universe.  It's coming after us first."

Mickey was able to see Rose swallow.  He already knew what she was thinking— and although he really didn't want to go along with it, he'd take being eaten by a black hole over that Angel coming near him again.  Jack, too, had a determined expression on his face.

"How do we break its restraints?"

The Doctor gave her an unreadable look, and Mickey felt himself drawn in a breath sharply, because in that moment the man's eyes looked older than anything he'd ever seen before.  Then the manic grin was back, and he exclaimed, "Like this!"

Without further ado, he grabbed one of the vases and threw it on the ground, where it shattered.


	5. Chapter Four: Have Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! On to the next one! 
> 
> Special thanks to Azzie for being so supportive!

"I've heard they were only a myth," Melody said.

"They weren't," replied Oswin.  "A bunch of people can attest to that."

"'A bunch of people'," muttered Melody.  "Very specific."

It looked like mentioning the Daleks had been a mistake.  Melody stifled a yawn, lying back on the dirt to stare up at the stars.  She'd spent the last few days trying to pick out constellations from among them, but while most stayed the same, some seemed to change every night.  Oswin said that it was due to the planet's unusual orbit.  Melody was inclined to disagree; her own theory was that the amount of light that the town itself generated changed each day, thereby changing which stars were visible.  Oswin had acknowledged this, but had this smug little smirk on her face when she did so that prompted a slap on her arm from Melody.

As for the Daleks, Melody knew little.  She'd seen a crude drawing once from a street artist who claimed that his grandfather had seen them once, but she had no way of knowing if it was the real thing.  It had looked like a weird octopus thing, but she hadn't been able to glean much more from that.  She found it hard to believe that an octopus had the ability to come close to defeating the Time Lords.

"Why do you think the Time Lords decided to take over the universe?" Oswin asked, fiddling with a communicator she was trying to build.  "They wanted to prevent another race like the Daleks from rising."

"And pretty much became Daleks themselves," murmured Melody.

"Yeah."

They sank into silence for a few moments.  Melody picked out the constellation that looked like Santa.  She smiled briefly when she thought she heard Strax on the next street over, shouting for the Sontaran Empire.

It was strange, how over the past month Baravan had become like… well, not like home, but _a_ home.  It certainly didn't measure up to sleepy Leadworth, or London.  She still had a constant ache over missing her parents, but the drive to get back to them had faded somewhat.  In fact, she had to go so far as to remind herself of the goal she was working towards, even though she had no clue where to start.  Oswin, for all her hints of having a project that could get them off the prison planet, didn't appear to be doing anything either.

The nagging feeling returned to her mind, but she was distracted when Oswin jumped up with a shout.

"Did you get it working?" she asked, excitement shooting through her as she, too, leaped to her feet.

"I think so," said Oswin. "Just got to... adjust this one, here..."

There was a shower of sparks, which had Melody jumping away, but Oswin crowed with triumph.

"How's that, then?" she said, high-fiving Melody.  "Just got to make the other one, then, and we'll be set to actually move around town a bit more.  Which reminds me, actually."

Her tone suddenly grave, she sat heavily on the porch and motioned for Melody to sit next to her.  A feeling of foreboding washed over Melody as she did so, running a hand nervously through her hair (starting to grow out again, finally).  She caught the eye of a Judoon that thudded past, who snorted at her before looking away.  Exhaustion was beginning to wash over her now, but it was clear that whatever Oswin had to say was important.

"Look, I'm just going to say it, 'cause I don't like beating around the bush a lot."

Melody raised an eyebrow at this contradictory statement.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Oswin grumbled.  "Anyway... so, there really isn't a whole lot to do around here.  Sure, I tinker, but not everyone here is a total screaming genius like you and me.  So, every now and then— about every few months or so— the prisoners here sort of... work off some steam.  Meaning, they have a huge fighting competition.  Not many rules.  If there are two opponents and an audience, then it's fair game according to the prisoners.

"Thing is, they usually leave the lower level convicts alone.  Same with mauves. Anything else pink and up is fair game, though."

Melody took a moment to digest this information.

"So I'm going to be targeted, is what you're saying."

Oswin nodded.  "My advice? Just... lay low for the next few days.  Stay inside.  Don't go out— not for anything.  Although, if you absolutely have to, then take Strax with you."

Melody looked down at her hands, clenched in her lap.  It hardly seemed fair; she didn't exactly have the build of a great fighter, so why would anyone want to fight her?  Sure, she was a relatively high martial arts student, but against most of the aliens on Baravan, she wouldn't stand a chance.  She couldn't help but feel slightly resentful of Oswin.  Just how had she managed to get mauve, anyway?  She got to roam the town freely, while Melody had to hide away like a coward.

"How come you have mauve?" she asked quietly.  "You don't look like much of a fighter.  What did you _do?"_

She regretted those words the moment they left her mouth; it sounded like she was accusing Oswin of something when she didn't even know the story.  She chanced a glance upwards, expecting to see a pinched expression on Oswin's face, but was surprised to instead see a resigned smile.

"How about we both tell our full stories?" she suggested.  "I can go first, if you like."

Melody could only nod, stunned.  A million questions were racing through her mind, but she suppressed them, for fear of Oswin reneging on her suggestion.  She leaned back to look up at the sky again, giving Oswin as much time as she needed to begin.  She found herself thinking of her mother and father once more.  She wondered if it was nighttime, back on Earth.  She wondered if they were able to sleep with the knowledge of what happened to her.  She had refused to look back at them in an attempt to be strong, but was now wishing that she had gotten to see their faces one last time.

"There were a lot of terrorist attacks around my time," Oswin began.  "You probably wouldn't know who it was."

Melody had no doubt of that.  If there had been a major terrorist around twenty years before her time, then it was probably forbidden for teachers to speak of them.  The Time Lords wouldn't want them getting any ideas.

"She was... inspiring," admitted her friend.  "Amazing, really.  No one remembers her name; I think that there was probably a planet-wide retcon of it.  Never hurt any innocents, but it was obvious that she did some serious damage to the Time Lords.  So one day, I just thought to myself... why not?  I was a genius, and if she could pull off those kinds of things, then why couldn't I?  Hacking the government— easy.  Pulling down the economy would've been easy, too, but I decided against it.  Basically, I planned a coup d'etat."

For some reason, this didn't surprise Melody as much as she expected.  "And they caught you?"

"No, that's just it.  It _worked._ The planetary government fell apart almost perfectly, and for about two weeks, human beings were free.  A kind of revolutionary government cropped up in its place.  You should've seen the celebrations— fireworks all over the place for hours, even during the day.  Strangely enough, none of it was violent; I think people were just too happy to be under their own power again to care about hurting other people.  I couldn't even believe that I was the one who'd been able to make it happen."

Melody had never heard of this event, but she felt her heart swell with pride at Oswin's accomplishment.  By contrast, what she had tried to do seemed low and tiny.

"And then it was over."  There was regret in Oswin's voice as she said this.  Melody wasn't facing her, but she could picture the faraway look in her friend's eyes.  "The Time Lords swooped in, like avenging angels.  They wiped out the revolutionary government barely breaking a sweat.  Then they came for me.  I never did figure how they even realized it was me, but they came and brought me here.  Just like that.

"It took me a while to really absorb the situation.  I changed the _world,_ Melody.  That's something that most people only dream about.  And being in prison didn't really matter at first, because I made a difference, for however short a time it was."

Melody wondered what that would feel like— to know you had changed everything.  She imagined it would be heady, like drinking too much wine.  She smiled faintly, thinking about Oswin sitting before a computer, typing away furiously with her tongue between her teeth.  Any feelings of resentment that she'd had before vanished, because in her opinion, none of the other thugs on the planet deserved to try and fight her.  She had, quite literally, taken over the world.

Gradually, she became aware of Oswin's curious gaze on her.  So she told the whole story: the death of her grandfather because of some experimentation Yvonne Hartman had authorized; the other horror stories she'd heard; her decision to take matters into her own hands, ultimately by killing Hartman.  She spoke rapidly, remembering how _easy_ it had been to stand over the woman with the blowtorch in hand, luxuriating in the power she held while the woman trembled.  She remembered feeling numbness overcome her as several guards wrestled her to the ground.

"Took a bit of planning," Melody told Oswin.  “I had to find an opening in the first place.  It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be to get close to her.  I know why now, of course— who needs protection when your bodyguards can always see an attack coming?”

“Just another advantage that they’ve got over us,” Oswin said.  “They can actually understand that whole non-linear idea.”

Melody didn’t reply to this.  There was a kind of tingling that she felt, but she put that feeling down as the breeze.  It got pretty cold on Baravan at night, reminding her of learning about the desert environment back on Earth.  In spite of how hot deserts could be during the day, at night they were actually very frigid. 

“So you’re special, then,” she teased gently.  “Oswin Oswald, who saved the world.”

Oswin snorted.  “For two weeks.”

“Yeah, but…”  Melody tried to find the right words.  “Come on.  How long d’you reckon humanities been ruled over by the Time Lords?  It feels like it’s been forever, but knowing them I bet they changed history or something, so that it was all different.  And you— just _you,_ no one else— you managed to bring them down and finally show people that there’s actual hope for us.  For human beings, and maybe all the other species out there.  How many people can say that they’ve done _that?”_

Oswin just looked at her, brown eyes wide.  For once, she looked speechless.  

“Look at what I’ve done.  Tried to kill one of the leaders, for revenge.  D’you think that’s _good?_ Sure, Hartman would’ve been gone, and maybe the experiments would’ve stopped after that, but they would’ve just replaced her with another leader like her.  It would’ve been seen as a desperate act by a crazy girl who wasn’t thinking straight.  But you were inspired, and were inspiring in return.”

Her friend shook her head.  “People here are afraid of me.”

Melody’s mouth snapped closed.  She couldn’t help the nonplussed expression that came over her face with that pronouncement; for a moment, all she could do was work her mouth silently before she finally managed to get a protest out. 

“Why, though?  Wouldn’t they— I dunno… look up to you?”

“They respect me well enough,” Oswin said, shrugging.  “But other than that I’m avoided like the plague.  Like they’re all afraid I’m going to make them explode if they come near me.  Everybody knows who I am sooner or later.  I’m surprised you didn’t find out sooner, actually.  The only person who comes any closer than ten feet besides you is Strax, and that’s only because he doesn’t know any better!”

Something clicked into place for Melody with those words.  She remembered wondering, earlier on, why the talkative Oswin didn’t have more friends on Baravan; surely there were other prisoners who weren’t violent brutes or psychopaths.  It had seemed to her that Oswin was simply avoiding them all, but in actuality it was the other way around. 

“I’m not scared of you,” she intoned fiercely. 

Oswin gave her a smile.  It was grateful, but at the same time it was halfway to being sad.  Melody instantly disliked it.  Feeling like more proof was needed, Melody scooted closer and wrapped her arms around her friend, curling tightly around her warmth.  Oswin hesitated only a moment before returning the hug, burying her face in Melody’s shoulder. 

“Just you wait,” Melody said once she pulled away.  “When we get out of here, we’ll show them all.”

She forced Oswin to go to bed, aware that she’d spent the previous night working on the communicator.  She began work on her own instead, frequently glancing through the door of the back room.

She kept working through the night, determined to be the one who looked after the other for once. 

***

The rumbling that shook Krop Tor nearly pitched Rose off of her feet, but she managed to grasp the cave wall in order to stay upright.  Various shouts echoed from around her, her mother’s scream the loudest of them all.  She fought her way over to Jackie, taking hold of her mum’s hand and squeezing it tightly.  Jackie caught her eye and calmed slightly, though there was still fear in her eyes. 

“Look at that!” shouted the Doctor at the… Thing.  “Beaten because you underestimated what people were willing to do to stop something like you.  You always expect the worst of all species, but you’re going to your destruction thanks to some fantastic people right here!”

And because there really was nothing else to do in this situation, Rose began to laugh.  It was a bit hysterical, but mostly she couldn’t help but feeling triumphant.  She had a sense that, if ‘Satan’ were to get loose, the universe would be in an even worse state than it was under the Time Lords. 

The beast let out an earsplitting roar, but more prevalent was a faint scream that seemed to echo through Rose’s mind.  Judging by the startled looks on both Mickey and Jack’s faces, they had heard it as well. 

“That’s its true self, contained in the Angel,” the Doctor hooted gleefully over the din.  “It knows that it’s lost, now.  Not even a Lonely Assassin can stand the pull of a black hole— OH!”

Suddenly he was bounding away, around the edge of the cavern, his face lit up like a child’s on Christmas.  Rose stumbled after him, tugging Jackie along behind her.  She rounded another corner to see the Doctor… _hugging…_ what looked like a telephone box.  She raised an eyebrow skeptically when he swiveled around to grin at them. 

“Guess what?” he said.  “I’ve just found our ride!”

“You gotta be kidding me,” shouted Mickey.  “That thing?!  It’s a bloody box!”

“Look, are you coming or not?” asked the Doctor.  He didn’t wait for an answer, choosing instead to quickly unlock the door and slide inside.  Rose, after giving a helpless shrug to the others, followed, ignoring the babbling protests of her mother. 

The moment the door closed behind them all, the sound of the black hole (which had taken on the drone of a great big drain sucking in an ocean) was silenced immediately.  Instead, the air was filled with a faint humming noise.  Jackie gaped beside her in disbelief, since it shouldn’t have been possible that a space that large was able to fit inside a little phone box. 

Rose, however, wasn’t paying any attention to Jackie.  She, Jack and Mickey all had their guns out, trained on the so-called ‘Doctor Smith’. 

“Time Lord,” Rose all but spat, an irrational feeling of betrayal rise up inside her.  “That explains a lot.  Going to cart us all off to one of your bloody prison planets, are you?”

“I knew it!” Mickey exclaimed triumphantly beside her.  “Ever since he mentioned he had sonic tech, I thought so!  ‘Cause only Time Lords are allowed sonic tech, aren’t they, Big Ears?”

The entire time, the Doctor had been all but ignoring them, running around the console and flipping numerous levers.  He hadn’t seemed to notice that they all had their weapons out, but he did look up and scowl when Mickey called him Big Ears.

“Oi!”  An anxious look appeared on his face.  “They’re not _that_ bad, are they?”

“Typical Time Lord,” Jack said stiffly.  “Can’t help being vain, I guess.”

“Look who’s talking,” retorted the Doctor.  “Think I haven’t noticed that you flirt with everything in sight?  And what have I said about the guns?  Not on the TARDIS, please!”

Rose wasn’t about to throw him a bone this time.  “Why did you help us?” she demanded.  “I’d expect your species to just let us die, tiny little humans as we are.  We’re nothing but ants to people like you!”

The Doctor stilled.  His shoulders sagged, and for a brief moment Rose thought she could see an aged man through the leather jacket.  He turned his eyes on her—still alarmingly striking— staring at her with an unreadable look.  The ship seemed to hum beneath their feet, briefly distracting her, but then the Doctor began to speak. 

“People like me,” he sighed.  “Tell me, Rose Tyler, have you ever met ‘people like me’?”

Rose remembered a day, several years ago— glimpsing blank faces through her door, remembering her mother’s desperate yells for her to just _go,_ recalling the sheer dumb luck she’d had in managing to get away.  Her father’s grim look as he shoved her off the fire escape—

She looked away from him. 

“And what’s more, what d’you mean, tiny little humans?”  His offended tone surprised her.  “Never once have I met a human being that could be described as tiny.  All of you— biggest people in the universe, the human race.  Biggest hearts, too.  We Time Lords need two to have even half of what you’re capable of.”

A stunned silence followed this pronouncement.  Almost against her will, Rose’s arm fell.  She mustered up the courage to look at him again.

“What do you want?”

The Doctor was back to fiddling with the console.  “Me?  Nothing.  I’ll just drop you lot off at your latest base.  Wherever it is.  Don’t worry, you do well enough at hiding yourselves.  The other Time Lords never can find you.  I won’t tell them where you are or anything.  I just want to go on my way.”

“That’s it?” asked Jack, disbelief coloring his voice.  “You’re just going to let us go?  Just like that?”

“Yep.  Got a problem with that?”

“A problem with believing it, yeah.”

Rose made an impatient noise.  “If you’re not turning us in, then what’s got you in such a hurry to get rid of us?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, exasperated.  “Does it matter?”

Jackie huffed from behind her.  Rose’s anger and fear were beginning to give way to curiosity, so she approached the console, blocking the Doctor from reaching one of the levers.  He eyed her with a scowl, now looking more annoyed than anything else.  She ignored this, leaning on hip against the console and folding her arms. 

“I think you’re running away,” she said.  “I don’t think you’re any fonder of the Time Lords than we are.  You want nothing to do with them.  Is this what you do?  Running around helping stray species, then bringing them back home and going to the next bunch that needs you?”

The Doctor watched her warily, like a wounded animal about to strike.  Rose leaned forward. 

“If you disagree with the rest of your species, then _help us.”_

It was a mark of their faith in her that both Mickey and Jack stayed silent.  The Doctor just snorted. 

“Not like I’ll make much difference in the long run though, is it?” he asked.  There was a bitter edge to his voice that Rose hadn’t heard before. 

“You could,” she said quietly.  “Maybe you could make all the difference.  Never know until you find out, though.”

“They used to tell us stories, in the Boeshane Peninsula,” added Jack.  He was looking at Rose, but speaking to both of them.  “That once upon a time, the Time Lords had those two hearts to love the entire universe with.  Everywhere they went they’d fall in love— over and over again.  They couldn’t help it.  Then came the Time War.”

“Those days were over long before the Time War,” the Doctor said heavily.  “Those days were over when Time Lords decided to shut themselves away from the rest of the universe— to only watch from afar.”

It occurred to Rose that, if the Doctor was faking, they were all screwed twice over.  Then again, it would’ve taken a phenomenal actor to be this convincing. 

“We’re all taking a big chance,” Rose explained.  The words felt right, so she straightened her spine.  “We could be living on Earth with everyone else, following the rules rigidly while the Time Lords make sure we keep our toes in line.  But we’re fighting instead because it’s not right, what they’re doing.  They hate us for it and they all think it’s because we’re taking the path of violence and they aren’t.  They’re hypocrites.  If they never used violence they wouldn’t have taken the universe in the first place, though.”

The Doctor scrutinized her carefully.  Rose held her breath.

“Nope, sorry,” he said after a moment.  “Right!  Where are you all headed, then?”

***

“She hasn’t come back yet,” muttered Melody.  She glared at Strax.  “I thought she said that no one would challenge the mauves.”

“They wouldn’t dare,” Strax said. 

“Then what’s taking her so long?”

Oswin had explained that she was going to run out to one of the junk piles to look for more spare parts.  Melody, aware of her temporary confinement to the shop, chose to pass the time by continuing to work on her communicator.  Strax had been ordered to stay with her, in case someone tried to break in (it was generally known by the others on the block that Melody and Oswin were living together, and that Melody was a pink). 

A thought had occurred to Melody during that time.  She’d asked Strax, “How do you know how to speak English anyhow?”

He’d pointed to a hole in his Sontaran armor (which, according to Oswin, had been scavenged off of one of his many opponents).  “Assimilation port.”

Melody knew that Judoon had similar technology and had figured that his reason was something like that, because she doubted that Strax would want to waste the time or the energy trying to learn another language— no matter how much respect he had for Oswin. 

Melody tried to go back to fitting in the wires, but found herself preoccupied by Oswin’s absence.  The daylight was beginning to fade, and even mauves weren’t necessarily safe once night fell.  Strax briefly interrupted the silence by asking her if she might reconsider fighting him, but Melody only laughed wanly. 

“This is getting ridiculous,” she murmured, glancing anxiously out the window again.  “Of course she’d have to go and get lost the one time I can’t go outside.”

“Mr. Oswald is never lost,” huffed Strax. 

“Well, can _you_ explain why she’s taking so long?” snapped Melody.  

“Simple, boy.  He must be lost.”

Melody slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned. 

As it continued to get darker, the anxiety gnawing in her belly only grew.  She began an agitated pacing around the room now, trying to keep herself from pulling her hair out.  Another hour seemed to drag by at the speed of a turtle, after which Melody finally gave up on her (admittedly low) patience. 

“I’m going to look for her.”

Strax scowled.  “Mr. Oswald expressed the wish that you remain confined for the duration of his absence.”

Melody grabbed a spare jacket and wrapped it around her frame, shooting him a look as she paused by the door.  “You coming or not?”

The Sontaran only hesitated a second before grunting and following her. 

Once they were outside, Melody had to admit that Oswin had a point.  The streets weren’t as cluttered with life as usual; others were probably hiding away from the fight as well.  She kept to the side of the street as often as possible, the hood of her jacket hiding her noticeable hair.  The two of them headed in the general direction that Melody and Oswin always went when they were trying to experiment with their little inventions. 

“He’s a tough lad, you know,” Strax said. 

Melody was momentarily thrown off by the fact that Strax, of all people, was offering her reassurances, but she quickly answered, “I know.”

Still, various images of horror were streaming through her mind.  Oswin— lying broken somewhere in an abandoned street.  Oswin, hurt and unconscious, far from help.  Melody shook her head, forcing herself not to think such things, but they continued in the back of her mind.  There was always the possibility that Oswin was fine, and just a little late.  However, there was one problem with that. 

Oswin was never late. 

***

_“Help me.  I can’t see anything.”_

_“Where am I?”_

_“It’s so dark…”_

_“I don’t know where I am…”_

“Where am I?!”

It was enough to drive her mad— like a million tiny bugs were crawling just beneath her skin, trying to make their way to her heart.  She wouldn’t let them get there, her willpower just barely enough to keep them out.  Distantly, harsh voices reached her ears.  She couldn’t remember what she had been doing.  It was something important, wasn’t it?

Around her, she thought she could hear others crying out.  She reached for them blindly, groping about in front of her, when she suddenly realized that she couldn’t move her arms.  She slumped.  She’d given up on crying out for help long ago. 

_“The next five will be selected for conversion!”_

Unable to think of anything else to do, she began the mantra in her head once more.  It was all she had to cling to.

_I am Oswin Oswald.  I beat the Time Lords.  Melody Pond is my friend.  I am Oswin Oswald.  I beat the Time Lords.  Melody Pond is my friend.  I am Oswin Oswald I beat the Time Lords Melody Pond is my friend Melody Pond is my friend Melody Pond is my friend Melody Pond is my friend…_


	6. Chapter 5: In the Hive Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a couple days, owing to laziness and crazy homecoming shenanigans. Glad to see that this story is generating interest, however small it may be! 
> 
> Special thanks to Azzie for continuing to encourage me in all my writing endeavors. 
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to Maddie, my dear, dear friend. She probably won't read this, but I haven't seen her in a while and I miss her.

Jack slid down the wall next to Rose, all too aware that she was probably too tired and numb to be talking.  Her gaze was faraway even as she laid her head on his shoulder, the tiniest of frowns appearing on her face.  Their takeoff from Krop Tor had been bumpy at best, but now that they were (presumably) in the Time Vortex, it was hard to tell that they were even moving at all.  The Doctor was on his back, fiddling with some of the wires beneath the console.  Jackie had fallen asleep on Rose’s other side, and Mickey was pacing restlessly, pulling up information on the Time Lords on his tablet. 

“Thought traveling in these things was supposed to be instantaneous,” murmured Rose. 

“It is,” said Jack.  “But remember, the Doctor said that the TARDIS was angry at him for first letting her fall into a chasm, then for almost getting sucked into a black hole.”

“D’you know what I think?”

“That I am lookin’ fine today?”

She rolled her eyes at him, nudging his shoulder.  “I think he’s lying.”

Jack was just barely able to stifle a sympathetic noise.  He knew that Rose had been immensely disappointed when the Doctor refused her plea for help.  He’d bet a million dollars that even the Time Lord Doctor was moved by her words, but that didn’t account for his species.  Their long lives and intelligence meant that they were always going to be a bit too different from humanity. 

But that didn’t mean that he wasn’t disappointed, because Rose was right.  Having a Time Lord on their side would be invaluable, however much the others in Torchwood might look down on such a decision.  As Rose had pointed out, the Doctor might have been able to make all the difference. 

“Somehow, I don’t think he is,” Jack replied. 

“Ever since we met him, he’s looked at least one of us right in the eye when he talks to us,” she observed.  “And then, when he explains about the ‘delay’, he suddenly finds the floor to be bloody fascinating.”

She had a point there.  However, before Jack’s suspicions could rise, the Doctor suddenly popped up from his spot.

“I think she’ll let us go, now,” he said brightly.  He flipped another lever, and the resulting jolt nearly sent Jack flying into Rose.  Jackie awoke with an indignant groan, her eyes immediately finding the Doctor and fixing him with her death glare. 

“’Bout bloody time!  Couldn’t make the ride a bit smoother, though?”

“I’m not you taxi service!”

“Really?” said Rose, and her cool tone made everyone in the room wince.  “That’s basically what you said you were.  So yeah, why isn’t this ride smoother?”

“There’s supposed to be six pilots,” Mickey explained absently, still examining his tablet. 

The Doctor scowled.  “I can fly her just fine on my own, thank you.”

“Whatever you say, Doc,” said Jack.  He jerked his head at the doors, looking at Jackie and Rose.  “After you, ladies.”

The four of them filed out of the TARDIS, not so much as glancing back.  Jack expected to hear the telltale sounds of the timeship departing, but surprisingly there was nothing.  Several personnel were standing in the tunnel they’d landed in, gaping at the police box that had appeared out of nowhere behind them.  Jack took in his surroundings, surmising that their next hideout was a more ancient ruin than the last.  _From one cave to another,_ he thought dully. 

A slightly amused voice came over the loudspeaker.  “If it isn’t Harkness and the Tylers.  We thought you guys were down for the count.”

“What am I, chopped liver?” yelled Mickey, shaking his fist at one of the cameras. 

“Can you hear someone talking, Rose?”

“Sod off, Larry,” she called. 

“Yeah, yeah,” replied Larry.  The blond was in charge of communications.  He was very good at his job, owing to the fact that he used to spend hours trying to ferret out Easter Eggs on DVDs and nerdy gossip on the internet.  “The PM’ll be thrilled that you’re back; she’s been genuinely worried since you guys vanished after the Angel attack.  And, uh, not for nothing, but… why’d you show up in a police box?”

“Long story, Nightingale,” said Jack.  “But if we’re telling it to anyone, we’re telling it to the PM.”

“All right, then.  Get someone who’s there with you already to take you to her office.  She hates it this time around, so I wouldn’t get too smart with her.”

One of the still-gaping Torchwood members jumped into action— a young man with messy hair and what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face.  Jack thought he recognized his as one of the later recruits— Jethro, he was sure of it— who had apparently been through an awful ordeal on some resort planet.  The Time Lords never answered his family’s plea for help.  He’d had to wait for human assistance, and by then whatever it was had killed both his parents. 

As they walked away, Jack made a quick look back at the TARDIS.  It still hadn’t left. 

By the time they made it to their leader’s office, however, all thoughts of the Doctor were put out of his mind.  He didn’t think he’d ever seen Harriet Jones in worse shape.  The circles under her eyes were more pronounced than ever, and she looked as though she’d aged ten years since they’d last seen her— which in retrospect, hadn’t actually been that long ago. 

“Thank _goodness_ you’re all alive,” she breathed out when they entered.  Jack knew that it couldn’t have been stressing out over all of them that was making her look so shaken; they simply weren’t that important next to the overall cause of Torchwood. 

Rose beat him to it.  “What’s happened?  What’s wrong?”

“We weren’t quick enough, basically,” replied Harriet wearily.  “When Mrs. Tyler gave us the warning about the Angels people certainly sped up— but the Angels are faster than the blink of an eye.  The majority of our people were able to get out in time, but a good bunch of them were either sent back in time or captured by the Time Lords when they showed up a few minutes later.  We’ve been sending retrieval teams back to various points in time and space to try and find the ones who were attacked by Angels.  The ones captured by the Time Lords… well, we’ve had to give them up.”

Jack frowned.  “The Angels don’t usually go actively looking for us.”

“And I don’t believe they did.  All signs indicate that they found us purely by chance.  Since so many of us are veritable beacons of time energy because of our lifestyle, however, they could hardly have resisted going after us once they found us.  The Time Lords control them enough to make sure that they can eliminate anyone breaking their laws, but no more than that.”

Harriet forced a smile.  “At any rate, there will be work for you later, but once you’ve explained what happened to you all, you’re welcome to get some rest.  I know for a fact that that police box still sitting in our base is a TARDIS.  I’m curious as to how it got here.  Did you capture it?”

“If only,” Mickey muttered.  Jack knew that Mickey would love to get his hands on such technology.  He had a feeling that the Doctor would have a thing or two to say about that, though.  Speaking of which, why hadn’t the Doctor left yet?

While Rose launched into the tale of Krop Tor, what happened to the Weeping Angel, and the Doctor himself, Jack pondered the answer to his own question.  Perhaps the Time Lord hoped to spy on them, or maybe he really was rubbish at flying his own ship and couldn’t get it to leave.  He already knew which answer Rose hoped it was: she wanted the Doctor to be having second thoughts about not helping them. 

“He could be eavesdropping on our communications!” said Harriet sharply, echoing Jack’s thoughts. 

“I don’t think so,” argued Rose.  “He didn’t seem all that interested in Torchwood.  Kept saying that he wanted to move on.”

Harriet faltered at this.  “Normally Time Lords don’t travel alone, these days.  There are always members of the military aboard their ships.”

“They could’ve been hiding, deeper in the ship,” Mickey warned.  “TARDISes are supposed to go on for miles on the inside.”

It was a good point, but somehow Jack couldn’t see the Doctor smuggling other Time Lords on his ship.  An image of the Doctor’s nose wrinkling at the assumption almost made him laugh out loud, but he quickly suppressed the urge.

“Usually the Time Lords use Weeping Angels as bloodhounds; they’re not scared of them,” he pointed out.  “But when he found out that one of them was in the research facility with us, he freaked out just like anyone on the run from his people would.  He didn’t seem too keen on helping it get free of possession, either.  Even so, I’d like to know why he’s still here.”

“As would I,” admitted Harriet.  “Unfortunately, he doesn’t look to be coming out any time soon.  I expect he’ll leave eventually.  In the meantime, I’m ordering you all to get some rest.  Jack, I know you stole another Vortex Manipulator, so I’ll be sending you back to the suspected points in time to see if you can’t retrieve our missing agents.  Mickey, I want you working with the tech department, they found something new recently.  Mrs. Tyler, you’ve been assisting Medical, is that correct?”

“The patients all love my tea,” Jackie said, preening a bit. 

“Continue to do so, then.  Rose, you’ve been in charge of Operation Cracking the Egg.  I know you haven’t gotten anywhere,” she added when Rose looked down at her feet, “and it isn’t your fault.  You’ve been doing good work, and I expect you to keep it up.  Any questions?”

They all shook their heads.  Harriet dismissed them.  Jack noticed that, right before he walked out the door, she slumped in her chair. 

“She looked awful,” said Rose, biting her lip in worry. 

“That woman works herself far too hard!” exclaimed Jackie.  She yawned, ruining the effect somewhat.  “I have half a mind to make her a cup of tea as well!”

Mickey soon turned off, heading for his new room assignment.  Jackie did as well a minute later.  Rose and Jack continued on together; their new quarters were closer to one another than before.  He took in the dejected look on her face.

“Operation Cracking the Egg not going so well, huh?”

“No,” sighed Rose.  “We can’t find any information on Time Lord prisons.  It’s like once they have the inmates, they just vanish off the face of the universe.  We tried to get an agent into one of them, but he disappeared too and we never had contact from him again.  I don’t like to think of what could’ve happened to Jake.”

Jack shook his head.  “Rose, sometimes I think you work a bit too hard as well.  You’re starting to look like the PM.”

The running joke around Torchwood was that Harriet Jones would’ve been Prime Minister if it weren’t for the Time Lords.  Thus, her nickname within the group was ‘PM’.  Jack wasn’t sure if she even knew about it, but if she did then she didn’t exactly protest against it.  He had a suspicion that she actually rather liked the title. 

“So, how _did_ you end up snatching a Vortex Manipulator?” asked Rose.  “Aside from the fact that you were sleeping with a Time Agent.”

“Hey, he knew how to do a good—“ at Rose’s raised eyebrow, he stopped himself from finishing that sentence.  “Yeah,” he said lamely.  “Well, you know Kathy?”

“Larry’s sister, yeah.  One of our field operatives.”

“She sent us a message that she was hearing some weird rumors.  She’s stationed in the 51st century.  Where I’m from.  Anyway, she kept reporting that apparently the Church was suddenly a lot more active.  At first no one really did anything, because they knew that it was the Church and they’re always up to something.  But then she heard something that I was immediately sent to investigate.”

“Don’t leave me hanging, I’m exhausted,” said Rose.  “What was it?”

“One of the Clerics mentioned the Silence.”

Rose’s eyes widened and she nearly stumbled on a loose stone.  She looked at Jack with pure shock on her face. 

“I know.”

“But— they aren’t _real._ Every time someone says they’ve seen one, it turns out to be fake!”

“That’s what we thought,” Jack explained.  “But when Kathy and I looked into it further, we realized that the Church knew more than they were letting on.  We weren’t able to get far into it before the Time Agents showed up though.  Apparently they were there to investigate the same thing.  Well, we couldn’t exactly continue with them there.  They’re just taking care of the smaller messes in time that the Time Lords can’t be bothered with.  So we had to lay low for a bit.”

“And you call ‘laying low’ somehow ending up in one of their beds.  You’re mad, you are.”  Rose crossed her arms as they stopped in front of the curtained doorway to her room.  “If the Silence are out there, though, whose side are they on?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

***

Melody was feeling pretty proud of herself for being able to get as far as she did, until she momentarily forgot where she was and accidentally turned onto Grim Street. 

“Foolish boy!” barked Strax, which of course alerted the whole block to their arrival.  “This is not a good place for you to go!”

Grim Street, according to Oswin, was the number one place for unprovoked fights on Baravan.  Strax, naturally, loved it.  Melody, on the other hand, had done everything she possibly could to avoid the area ever since she arrived on the prison planet.  She had no desire to be pummeled to death, even if the Sontaran claimed that there was no finer place.

He obviously no longer thought so, because he looked rather alarmed.  Melody took a deep breath and began walking as quickly as she could.  Like it or not, it was the fastest way to the edge of the city.  She was careful to keep her head down and avoid eye contact with any of the residents.  There was muttering and grunting from the various aliens she could feel staring at her. 

Melody kept her eyes on the end of the street, where she would turn the corner and (hopefully) be home free.  About ten feet away from where she could do so, however, the view of salvation was blocked by a lot of green. 

“What’s the matter, girl?  Leaving us so soon, are we?”

Melody recoiled in surprise at the gravelly, but still feminine hissing.  Instead of the bulky challenger she’d been expecting, she was face-to-face with a slender but still intimidating Silurian, whose eyes were fixed on the pink stripe just barely visible beneath her coat.  She shifted to cover it up, but it was too late; others were beginning to surround her too, staring in interest. 

“Out of the way, reptile!” said Strax.  “We’re busy.”

“Your definition of busy and mine are vastly different, Strax,” replied the Silurian, not taking her eyes off Melody.  Melody thought it would probably be a good idea to not look away.  “Fresh food’s just wandered into our midst, and you expect me to just let it walk away?  It is that time, you know.”

Melody knew what she meant— the fighting competition.  She didn’t really fancy becoming a Silurian’s dinner, though. 

“Look,” she began.  “Just let me pass now, and I promise I’ll come back later and you can have a fair fight then.  My friend Oswin’s missing—“

At this, a variety of hissing, howling, and talking erupted from around her, while the Silurian woman flinched back at the name. 

“Oswin Oswald?” she asked.  She recovered fast, smiling coldly.  “Well, this day just gets better and better.  If we are rid of that monstrous woman, then it’s all for the best.  Pity I didn’t get to eat her either.”

Suddenly, fighting didn’t look so bad anymore.  A rush of anger surged through Melody, and before she could stop herself, she spat, “Yeah?  At least Oswin’s not some flesh-eating reptile freak!”

The woman hissed at her, eyes narrowing in disgust. 

“Come on, then,” Melody taunted.  “Fight me if you want.  Unless you’re scared of Oswin Oswald’s friend?”

“Excellent,” said Strax.  “It will be a three way competition, then.”

“No, Strax,” they both said at the same time.  The Silurian inclined her head at Melody.  “I accept your challenge, girl.  Should you lose, your life will be forfeit.”

“Fine.”  Struck by sudden inspiration, Melody added, “And if _you_ lose, you have to help us look for Oswin.”

Although the Silurian looked none too happy with this arrangement, she gave a short, sharp nod of acquiescence.  To Melody’s great surprise, she tossed off her coat to reveal a short sword, the kind that Melody had only seen in movies.  She pulled another seemingly from nowhere and tossed it to her. 

 _I’m having a swordfight with a reptile on a prison planet while searching for my best friend who’s a genius that took over the world,_ thought Melody dully.  _Just what has my life turned into?_

“No rules, no limitations,” called the Silurian. 

“Destroy her for the glory of the Sontaran Empire, boy!” shouted Strax. 

Melody barely had time to register his ‘encouragement’ before the Silurian was on her. 

Her earlier remarks about eating humans might have made her seem savage earlier, but she fought with all the finesse of an expert swordswoman.  Melody was just barely able to keep herself from being stabbed from the outset, mostly ducking and dodging (how was she supposed to parry a move that quickly?).  She made a wild swipe in an attempt to hit her opponent, but it was smoothly blocked. 

“Mammals,” sneered the Silurian.  “Watch them flail.”

Melody threw herself to the side, wincing when the flat of the Silurian’s sword wacked her in the arm.  Gritting her teeth, she planted her feet and attempted to block a few more blows, surprising herself when she was successful.  It was only really her reflexes, which had been honed in her martial arts classes, that were keeping her alive.  She focused on that instead of what was at stake, pretending it was just another sparring match with her sensei. 

Had she been facing a worse opponent, she would’ve had more stamina; as it was, she was already tiring from having to duck and dodge between so many of the Silurian’s strikes.  When she managed to block an overhead slash, her opponent casually kicked her feet out from under her, sending her tumbling to the ground. 

 Melody’s mind raced, because it couldn’t end here.  It just couldn’t.  Making a split-second decision, she fixed her eyes on a point beyond the Silurian’s shoulder and screamed. 

Amazingly, her opponent fell for it.  She whirled around to look at what Melody had been screaming at and left herself open.  Melody flung herself at her, wrestled the sword out of her grasp, and placed her own at the Silurian’s throat. 

There was a brief silence, in which the only thing that could be heard was her own panting. 

The Silurian’s face was expressionless.  Then she said, slowly and clearly, “I yield.”

The crowd surrounding them erupted.  Out of all those voices, Melody could hear Strax chanting his war cry.  She stood up, feeling almost dizzy with relief, and offered a hand to help her opponent up.  The Silurian merely looked at it with disdain and pushed herself to her feet.  She glared at her sword, as though blaming it for her loss. 

“Okay,” Melody said quickly.  “If you’re going to be helping me, then you may as well tell me your name.”

Stormy gray eyes angled themselves back in her direction, but beneath the glare there was a smidgeon of respect as well.  “Vastra.”

Melody nodded.  She beckoned at Strax, who was still chanting even though the crowd was beginning to disperse.  He fell silent as he approached the two of them.  Melody tried to give Vastra her sword back, but Vastra shook her head.

“Keep it,” she said.  “Thin as you are, you may have need of it.”

“Er… thanks.  I think.”

As they walked down Grim Street, Vastra continued to question her— about why Oswin was missing in the first place, about where she could be, about who would dare to attack any mauve, let alone Oswin.  It bothered Melody that there was a hint of fear in Vastra’s eyes whenever she mentioned her friend, but she pushed it away.  There was no use in dwelling on it when said friend was missing. 

When they reached the outskirts of the town, Melody turned in a full circle.  There was nothing to indicate that Oswin had ever been there— not even footprints.  Strax looked dumbfounded.  Vastra, however, marched over to one of the junk piles, staring at it with a frown. 

“Lovely sight, isn’t it?” asked Melody. 

“No, it’s not that, it’s just…”  Vastra moved closer.  Melody couldn’t help but notice how much more normal Vastra seemed when she wasn’t trying to be threatening.  She wondered why that was; surely she wouldn’t give up on her dislike of humans that easily? 

“I can hear something.”

That jolted Melody.  “What?”

“I can hear something.”  She nodded at the trash.  “It seems to be coming from in there.”

“In the junk pile?” Melody said skeptically. 

“I’m being honest,” replied Vastra, looking offended. 

Melody held up her hands in surrender before examining the heap once again.  She couldn’t hear anything, but Vastra probably had better hearing on account of her biology.  Shrugging off her coat (she no longer needed to worry about challenges this far out), Melody rolled up her sleeves and started to dig her way through the trash.  Scuffling sounds on either side of her told her that Strax and Vastra were doing the same. 

The hours slid by while they worked.  They seemed more like years to Melody; she doubted that she would ever get the smell off of her.  She pulled her way through old food, tires, keychains and a plethora of items that she didn’t recognize, but guessed were alien.  At one point her elbow went into a pile of goo; she didn’t even want to know what that was. 

Finally, she struck something so large that she couldn’t move it, no matter how hard she threw herself at it.  Clearing the other junk away from it, she realized that it was a great big metal door. 

“Vastra!  Strax!” she called. 

They both clambered over to join her, Vastra pulling an orange peel from her face.  Melody had to suppress a giggle at the sight of Strax, who had managed to wear a yogurt cup on his head like it was a crown. 

“It’s a door,” she said, gesturing at it.

“I can see that,” said Vastra dryly, moving towards it and pressing her ear again the metal.  “The noises are coming from inside.”

“That’s where we’re going, then.”

Vastra looked as though she wanted to protest; she opened her mouth, but then closed it with a pained look.  Strax, on the other hand, stood up straighter. 

“Let’s get this thing open, then,” he grunted.  Without further ado, he smashed himself into it.

***

_Her dad was screaming at her to go._

_She yelled that she wasn’t leaving him, pulling him with her to the fire escape.  The Time Lords didn’t make the noise that ordinary police would; they were silent, relentless in their approach.  Her mum was clinging to the both of them in absolute terror, her gaze transfixed on the door to their sitting room.  All three clambered onto the fire escape._

_The door smashed open.  Her dad stopped protesting._

_“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.  Even over all of the sirens on the other side of the building, it was too easy to hear him.  Before she could question him, he had shoved her and her mum off.  She was falling, down, down, down…_

“Easy, easy!”

Someone was yelling.  It took Rose a moment to realize it was her.  She forced herself to quiet down before registering that somebody was in the room with her.  Her gun was in her hand almost at once, trained on the shadowy figure before she recognized the blue eyes.

“What the bloody hell are you doing?” she snapped.  “Thought you were getting your arse out of here.”

“Blimey, kiss your mother with that mouth, do you?” asked the Doctor. 

“She’s said worse.”

“Of that, I have no doubt,” he muttered.  “If you must know, the TARDIS wouldn’t let me leave.  She let me park her in here, though, ‘cause I figured you’d be the most likely to listen to me.”

Rose placed the gun carefully back on the ground next to her before sitting up and folding her arms.  “You are _not_ keeping it in my room.”

“Not much of a room, is it?”  The Doctor eyed first the little cave they were in, then her sleeping bag. 

“What do you want?”

The Time Lord reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out— a banana.  “You look hungry.”

As though his words had made it so, Rose’s stomach rumbled.  Huffing a bit, she took the fruit from him and started peeling it.  “Jack would tease me to death if he saw this,” she mumbled. 

The Doctor looked at her strangely.  “Why’s that?”

“Er— nothing.”  Rose took a quick bite.  “What was it you wanted me to listen to?”

The Doctor sat cross-legged across from her, looking serious.  “You care about the people here, right Rose?”

“One big family, that’s us.  Not much we wouldn’t do for each other, but sometimes we gotta make sacrifices for the cause.  It’s hard, but it’s worth it to us.  The people we lose understand that.”

He sighed.  “It’s _not_ worth it though, Rose.”

Rose sat motionless, staring. 

“I’m telling you to stop fighting.  You humans are wonderful and your determination astounds even me, but you can’t win against the Time Lords.  They can see your every move if they choose to— they just aren’t right now because they don’t see you as a threat.  You could all go back to your lives on Earth.  Maybe you’d have a planetary government, but that’d be the only difference.”

Rose swallowed her last bit of banana, careful to keep her face blank.  “You don’t get it, do you?”

“I _do,_ Rose.  Really, I do.  But—“

“What’ve you been doing for the past… hundred years, Doctor?  Running around time and space in your TARDIS?  Not playing by anyone’s rules, saving someone as a passing fancy?  It sounds like a wonderful life, but the rest of us don’t have that luxury.  We don’t have the freedom to explore our own planet, much less the universe— did you know that they’ve segregated the Silurians from us?  They get Africa.  We get every other continent.  They keep it quiet, but they take us too, for experiments or something else or prison. 

“Nobody should have to live like that, Doctor.  Not even the Time Lords themselves.  And a lot of us have broken their laws at some point, so we can’t exactly go back to our lives on Earth.  There’s gotta be some spark of hope in the universe.  If that’s us… well, fine.”

She could see how every word she said cut into him, but she didn’t let up until she ran out of things to say. 

“You are so stubborn,” he said at last.  “You _can’t win._ ”

“We’ve stood a chance so far.  Maybe, if you helped, we’d actually get somewhere.”

“Not this again—“

“Why isn’t your TARDIS letting you leave?” she asked. 

“I don’t know!”

“Well, if you can’t leave then you might as well tell me,” said Rose.  “Do you know anything about prison planets?”

***

The smell of rust was so strong that Vastra thought for a second that she was smelling blood. 

The three of them edged their way into the dark room, keeping an eye out for anyone else.  She wasn’t sure what this room would be utilized for; it had four walls, a floor, and a ceiling, but no controls or other items as far as she could see.  There was another doorway at the other end of it.  Thankfully, it appeared to be open this time.  Whoever was in here (and Vastra had no doubt that there was someone) probably wouldn’t be too happy with intruders smashing down their doors. 

Melody crept forward first, staying close to the shadowed walls.  She pressed herself to one side of the door, peering into the opening.  She shook her head at Strax and Vastra.

“I can’t see anything,” she whispered. 

Vastra strained her ears again.  Yes, the strange noises from before were still there.  Now that they were inside, they were echoing a bit more.  As a matter of fact, they almost sounded like…

            “Are those voices?” asked Melody, still keeping her own low. 

If they were, they were unlike any voices Vastra had heard before; even Judoon grated less on her ears.  They were high-pitched and raspy, as though they were coming through a bad radio.  Vastra remembered stealing one in her illegal trip to the future planet Earth.  She had been desperate for food and took to stowing away on TARDISes— that is, until she was caught and sent to Baravan. 

Melody began to move into the blackness beyond the door, Strax only a few steps behind her.  Vastra brought up the rear; years of having to watch her own back had told her it was never a good idea to disregard what was behind her. 

They began passing unfamiliar structures the further they went in.  Vastra quickly became aware that they were descending, probably underground.  There were holes in the walls that looked like they had to be plugged into, but everything was covered in a layer of rust and clearly hadn’t been used for years. 

There was a light up ahead now, and the voices were getting louder.  She could understand some of what they were saying. 

“… the next group for conversion…”

“… subject… has been deemed useless…”

“High intelligence…”

Melody hurried into a room adjacent to where they were.  Her gasp was audible to Vastra, who followed quickly. 

What she saw nearly made her sick. 

It was a massive place, the likes of which Vastra would never expect to see on a planet like Baravan.  Suspended from identical sets of tubes holding them all up were hundreds of people of varying species.  Humans seemed to be the predominant one, but she easily spotted several of her own sisters. 

“How has nobody noticed this?” she hissed, barely able to suppress the fury rising in her veins. 

The victims all appeared to be in a semi-conscious state; their eyes were half-open and their lids twitched every so often, but other than that they hung limply.  Melody made her way through the multitudes of suspended bodies, breaking into a run.  Vastra caught sight of a red dress near the far end of the room. 

She raced after Melody, clamping a hand down on the girl’s mouth before she could shout. 

“If they hear us, we meet the same fate,” she whispered. 

Melody nodded.  Vastra released her and stepped back to observe Oswin Oswald. 

She looked the same as she had when she had first stepped off of a TARDIS, whispers of what she had done following in her wake.  Like everyone else, Vastra had quickly learned to fear the girl— for who but someone immensely powerful could throw off the hold of the Time Lords?  Yet, held captive like the others, she couldn’t help but notice how very small and fragile Miss Oswald looked.  Her brown eyes were fixed on Melody, who looked back up at her with the same helplessness. 

The red haired woman whirled around.  “How do we get them out of here?”

Vastra was about to reply, when a nearby door slid open, flooding part of the room with light.  Melody lunged forward, seizing Vastra’s and Strax’s wrists and dragging them deep into the shadows.  All three of them watched, transfixed, as two _things_ rolled into view. 

If Vastra had to describe them, she’d say they looked like massive pepper pots.  She thought that they actually looked rather ridiculous.  When one of them spoke, it was with the same rasping voice she had been able to hear before. 

“Bring forth the next group for conversion.”

The other went over to one of the holes Vastra had taken note of earlier, placing its plunger (how absurd) over it.  At once, a line of the captives were released from their tubes.  They followed the thing that had spoken out through the door with dazed looks on their faces.  Oswin Oswald was not one of them. 

“What are they?” Melody whispered, echoing her own thoughts.

To her surprise, it was Strax who answered. 

“Daleks.  Enemy of the Sontaran Empire.”

Melody’s eyebrows shot up.  “ _Those_ are Daleks?  Remind me not to think of them as squid things anymore.”

“But they were destroyed by the Time Lords,” Vastra said. 

“I reckon there were a few prisoners of war in their somewhere,” Melody murmured.  “Anyway, that’s not what I’m worried about— conversion?”

“Daleks are rumored to be rather like Cybermen,” Vastra explained bitterly.  “They use any resources necessary if their population is endangered.  I’m guessing that these people are all on the list to be made Daleks themselves.”

“I learned about the Cyber Wars in school,” said Melody.  She looked ill.  “We have to get everyone out of here.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” snapped Vastra.  “A single Dalek can be categorized as a weapon of mass destruction.  Who knows how many prisoners they’ve converted since they’ve been here?”

“There has to be a way.  The Time Lords wouldn’t have just left Daleks here, where they could prey on the rest of us—“

“My dear, I think you vastly underestimate how much sympathy the Time Lords have for any living thing besides themselves, much less their own prisoners.”

But Melody wasn’t listening.  She was staring at the hole that the Dalek had used before.  Before Vastra could say anything else she ran over, reaching into it. 

“There has to be some kind of wiring system,” she muttered distractedly.  “Yes, there it is!  If I can just find the right way to re-wire this…”

“You hardly know anything about Dalek technology!” cried Vastra. 

“No, but I’m getting good with tech in general, thanks to Oswin,” replied Melody.  “I need some kind of distraction.  Something that’ll keep them from coming in here for more prisoners while I get this to release everyone else.  If I can get it to stop whatever sedative their using, that’d be good, too… though we don’t have much time to wait for it to wear off.”

“You don’t expect me to—“

“Of course, Miss Pond,” interrupted Strax.  “The reptile and I will provide a suitable diversion while you work.”

“Are you mad?” Vastra hissed at him, but he was already moving away.  Cursing silently, but seeing that she had little other choice (she refused to go back on her word to help Melody), she followed.


	7. Chapter Six: What Signal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a few days to get to this, but I finally don't have to worry about school for about a week. Yay! Also, I have to post this now and not Saturday, since I know that no one is going is to read this on Saturday. 
> 
> I must now, of course, bow down to Azzie for her amazing support. *Showers Azzie with love*

“New York City, eh?” Jack said, grinning at Sally.  “Kind of a strange place for you to get sent to.  Weren’t we somewhere in the Jeytaynis Galaxy before?  Though I must say, the flapper look is doing wonders for you, Miss Sparrow.”

Sally winced as she took another of her bobby pins out of her hair, which was covered in glitter.  “Would you stop, Captain?  I’ve been here for five months.  It’s true I did meet a wonderful woman named Tallulah— she helped me secure the job with her group.  But, as much as I’ve come to like hanging out with the girls, I’m ready to get back to proper work.”

“Right, right,” muttered Jack.  She could still practically feel his gaze burning into her arse, though. 

“Eyes front,” she admonished him before moving behind the changing screen. 

“Kathy and Larry say hello, by the way.”

Air whooshed out of Sally’s lungs at that, and she nearly collapsed in relief.  The two people that she held closest to her heart— they were alright, they were _safe._ Well, obviously not completely safe, because they were still fighting the good fight along with the rest of Torchwood.  But it was enough for her to know that neither of them had been taken in the Angel attack. 

She hadn’t been quite so lucky.  It was arguably the most disorienting experience of her life; she’d been running, almost afraid to look behind her (though that would’ve been the smart thing to do), then suddenly she was on a dirty, smelly street in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.  In the early 1930s. 

“Anything new?” she asked, once she had changed into something a little more acceptable— a jacket over her large t-shirt and trousers.  She looped her arm through his while he keyed the coordinates for the latest Torchwood headquarters into his Vortex Manipulator.  She took one last glance around the room and silently said goodbye to what had been her home for the past five months.  She’d miss Tallulah.  As far as homes went, this one wasn’t too bad. 

Jack paused.  “We might’ve had a breakthrough in Operation Cracking the Egg.  Oh, and there’s a Time Lord taking up residence with us.”

Sally’s eyebrows shot up.  “I hope that means he’s rotting in one of our cells.”

“Nah.  This one’s helping us out.”

That was even stranger.  “With what?”

“Eh, not much.  Just some… stuff.”

“All right, I can take a hint.”  The trip through the Vortex was sudden, but Sally barely stumbled as a large cavern, full of various tech, materialized around them.  Nobody paid either of them the slightest bit of attention.  “You could just say that it’s classified.”

“I don’t do clichés,” Jack declared. 

Sally grinned.  “Is that how you get so many people to sleep with you?”

Jack shoved her away, but seemed unable to keep his own grin from his face.  “Go find your friends, Sparrow.  They’re worried sick.”

Sally gave him a mock salute before picking her way through the cavern.  She reasoned that this must be the new tech department.  She caught sight of Mickey Smith yelling at someone else for dropping what looked like a great big funnel and chuckled to herself.  The stalactites that hung from the ceiling were impressive, even if they were only a dull brown.  In the center of the room was a massive stalagmite formation, and it seemed to be where the tech department leaders were set up. 

She asked directions to communications.  Kathy could’ve been anywhere, but she knew that Larry rarely left the cramped (or maybe it wasn’t this time) room that contained all of the machinery for monitoring communications in certain designated time periods.  After thinking for a bit, she asked someone else for directions to the rec room.  There was a crappy little coffee machine in there, but at least the brew was caffeinated. 

Fifteen minutes later, armed with coffee and a cup of tea for herself, she headed through the twisting tunnels to communications.  Along the way, she passed Rose Tyler, who was arguing heatedly with some tall bloke in a leather jacket.  She gave a small wave when Rose caught sight of her.  Rose’s face bloomed into a beaming smile and she hurried over to give Sally a hug. 

“Thank god, you’re alright!” she said, pulling back quickly.  “Kathy and Larry have been worrying their arses off over you.”

“So I’ve heard,” Sally replied.  “It’s lovely to see you Rose, but I’ve got coffee to deliver.”  She held up the mug, as well as the thermos that had her tea in it. 

“Right, yeah,” said Rose.  “No problem.  I’ve just got to re-write several reports because _someone_ ,” here she shot a dirty look at the man in leather, “forgot to tell me an important detail!”

“Oi!” barked the stranger.  “Don’t go blaming me, you’re hardly one to…”

Sally moved away as the two once again became absorbed in their bickering.  She greeted the members of Torchwood that she knew and nodded at those she didn’t as she passed them.  She briefly wondered if she should go and check in with the PM before visiting Larry, but then pushed that thought aside.  The PM probably had enough to worry about, and she didn’t exactly have anything helpful to report.  Detailed accounts of the dance routines she’d learned didn’t count. 

Her heart twisted a little bit when she entered communications and saw Larry.  He looked as though he hadn’t eaten or slept for days.  She regretted not grabbing some food from the rec room either; coffee wasn’t exactly going to help with hunger.  Padding silently up behind him, she set down the mug right in front of him, causing him to flail and nearly knock it over. 

“What the bloody—“ but he cut himself off when he whipped around and saw her biting her lip against a grin.  His jaw dropped. 

“Honestly, Larry Nightingale,” she admonished.  “I come here to find you looking like an underfed rat.  What am I going to do with you?”

“You— but— you—“ he spluttered, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. 

Sally placed both hands on his shoulders, offering a sympathetic smile.  “Try not to hurt yourself, there.”

Before either of them could say anything else, a familiar voice shrieked, “Where is she?!  I’m going to _kill_ her!”

Something heavy and smelling of sweat collided with Sally, arms wrapping around her in a hug that nearly choked her to death.  She assumed that Kathy must’ve been exercising or something, and had abandoned it when she heard that Sally had returned.  To her credit, Kathy didn’t sob into her shoulder as she might have in the past.  Time as a field operative had hardened her beyond it.  Sally felt a pang at the thought.

Pulling away she said, “You’re going to kill me when the Angels almost killed me already?”

Kathy scowled.  “Don’t joke about that.”

“I have to.  You know that.”

“Course I do.”  Kathy let out a sigh.  “I can’t stay very long.  I’m getting in some hand-to-hand training done, since I was in a bit of a pinch the last time I went into the field.  I only got in a lucky shot because the wanker I was fighting decided he was going to monologue like an idiot.  Anyway, you’ll tell me everything later, right?”

“When I can, yeah,” Sally replied.  They hugged again quickly before Kathy jogged off, waving behind her. 

“It’s only been a few days for us,” said Larry.  “Felt like forever, though.  And you…?”

“Five months.”

Larry swore. 

“It wasn’t so bad,” Sally promised, pulling up a nearby chair.  “I made a friend who helped me out while I was stuck in New York.  Still… middle of the Great Depression.  You’d think that the Time Lords would at least try to alter events so that it didn’t happen, but I guess the species they rule over aren’t worth the effort.  Not to mention that their laws made it even more difficult for people to feed themselves.”

That wasn’t all.  Sally didn’t remember much of her old life on Earth; it all eventually became nothing more than an echo for those who joined Torchwood.  But she soon re-discovered that Africa was closed off to all humans, because that was where the Silurians lived.  The resulting overpopulation in neighboring countries— especially those across the Red Sea— meant that conflicts broke out more easily than usual.  No one knew exactly what was going on with the Homo reptilia, but she could no longer look at Africa on a map without feeling a sense of dread.  If the Time Lords were so intent on keeping Silurians separate, then what did it mean for the lizard-like species? 

“Anyway, no point on dwelling on it,” she said.  “Jack managed to find me, so here I am.”

Larry gave her a measured look, silently telling Sally that he knew her better.  He was right, but she held his gaze.  There were some things that she liked to keep to herself— in this case, the nightmares she had. 

“What’ve you been up to?” she asked. 

He clapped his hands together.  “Ah.  Been fixing up some glitches in a communicator.  It’s proving to be a bit tough, though.  Take a look at this.”

Sally scooted closer in order to get a better look at the computer screen.  Apart from what looked like a bunch of software code that she couldn’t understand, there was a repeated phrase that had been printed over and over again.  She squinted to get a better look.

“That’s a message that keeps getting sent to Rose Tyler’s comm unit,” Larry explained.

“Well, who’s been sending it?”

“No one.”  At her disbelieving look, he shrugged.  “It just keeps happening.  I figure it must be a malfunction.  Been trying to fix it all afternoon, but she keeps getting it no matter what I do.  Just ‘Bad Wolf’, repeated time and time again.  It might be a practical joke, but it doesn’t even _mean_ anything, really.”

“Huh.”  Sally had a different topic on her mind.  “Who was that bloke she was with?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around.”

To her surprise, Larry’s expression transformed into a gleeful one.  “You’re not going to believe it.”

***

Oswin had accepted a long time ago that she wasn’t, in fact, dreaming.  Much as she wanted to be. 

How she wished that the distant screams and voices of the Daleks were just figments of her imagination.  She wished that she could move around and actually see properly, instead of getting hazy images and having her limbs be limp, disobeying her commands.  She only felt the vague sensation of a hand on her cheek.  She was only able to partly focus on the red haired figure who’d looked up at her with horror on her face. 

_No,_ she thought distantly.  _No, you said you wouldn’t look at me that way…_

But it wasn’t a dream.  Because no matter how tortuous a dream might have been, she’d have to wake up eventually.  When she never did, she was forced to come to the conclusion that she was already awake.  The powerlessness she felt made her want to scream, but she could not get her jaw to shift even a little.  Whatever drugs the Daleks were using to keep her docile, they were effective.  It was worse than being unconscious, because she was aware of her surroundings but unable to do anything about them. 

Distantly, she heard the voices of the Daleks increase in volume, as though something had angered them.  Then, without warning, the tubes holding her up lowered her to the ground.  There were soft thuds all around her, of people being released.  She collapsed in a pile of boneless flesh, unable to get herself to move, but thankfully the drug seemed to be wearing off.  All around her, the other prisoners were starting to stir, some of them letting out sobs of relief.  A part of her wanted to join in, but at the same time another part held back. 

Arms suddenly circled her, hoisting her to her feet, and a pair of green eyes anxiously examined her.  Oswin somehow managed to move her lips into what she hoped was a smile. 

“Oh, thank God,” muttered Melody, carefully placing her on her feet.  Unable to help herself, Oswin swayed a bit, prompting Melody to steady her again. 

“Hi,” slurred Oswin.  “What’s… how…?”

“Super hearing of a Silurian,” explained her friend, “but right now we need to get everyone out of here.  Before they come back.”

She gently pushed Oswin in the direction that all the others were heading— though it was more like they were stumbling.  Melody then began to quietly herd them in the direction of a door on the far side of the room, which led into darkness.  She gave whispered instructions to the ones who seemed the most coherent; they nodded and began to help guide the others out.  Thankfully, their pace got quicker as more and more of them came back to themselves. 

Then came the words that they all dreaded to hear.

“Escape!  Escape!  The prisoners are fleeing, all Daleks to Prisoner Holding Bay!”

Melody shouted something that was lost over the sudden clamor.  She began heading back the way they came.  Oswin, now able to think more clearly, hurried after her, not about to leave without her. 

“Just how are we supposed to stop them?” she hissed, warily eyeing the Daleks that began to stream into the room. 

“They must have a main control panel somewhere,” Melody answered.  “They all have to be able to communicate with each other.  If we can find it… well, I’m not in the company of the best hacker in the universe for nothing.  That is, if you’re up to it.”

A savage grin appeared on Oswin’s face.  “Do you even have to ask?”

Melody gave her a serious look.  “I wouldn’t ask at all, but I brought Strax and a woman named Vastra down here with me.  They might lose their lives, and I have to go back for them.  I might be able to hotwire a control panel, but I don’t have your skills just yet.  If you were any less coherent, I would be forcing you to get out of here.”

“Like you could,” retorted Oswin. 

Melody raised an eyebrow at her as the two of them began to make their way back deeper inside.  “I may not have quite the brains you do, but we both know I could hand your arse to you.”

Oswin took a moment to take a good look at her friend.  Melody looked tired more than anything else.  Her short red locks were coated with grime, as was her face.  Her entire posture was tense, as though waiting for a blow.  There was an expression on her face that could almost be described as murderous, and for the first time Oswin thought she could see the woman who had attempted to assassinate Yvonne Hartman. 

It was strange to think about.  Melody was always so optimistic, albeit in a roundabout, sarcastic way.  Although Oswin believed her when she explained why she was shipped off to Baravan, she had a hard time reconciling the Melody she knew with someone willing to commit murder— with a blowtorch, no less.  She didn’t have much sympathy for the planetary government either, but she’d always thought that it was best to rebel in a less violent manner.  Clearly, Melody had no such qualms. 

Oswin wasn’t sure whether or not she respected her for it. 

“So, where are they?” she asked. 

“Creating a distraction, apparently,” Melody replied.  “Vastra seems like a master of subtlety, but… Strax is with her.”

Oswin grimaced.  “Point taken.”

They had no choice but to creep towards the door that the Daleks entered through, sticking as close to the shadows as possible; the Daleks were still in the room, after all.  Thankfully, their vision seemed to be limited to their eyestalks.  As Oswin looked at the door, she had a brief flash of terror as her subconscious self recalled what that door led to.  Every time the holding room had lit up from the yellow light of the door opening, she had listened helplessly as the screams began. 

“The prisoners are no severe loss,” one of the Daleks croaked.  “There are always more.”

“Intruders captured!” announced another.  “They must be interrogated.”

Oswin felt her stomach lurch.  The Daleks began to file out of the room to view the spectacle.  Melody and Oswin crept behind them, making sure that they stayed out of their range of vision.  They both dove behind a support pillar once they made it to the next room.  Oswin grimaced when she caught sight of the conversion chambers that were adjacent to them.  Thankfully, this seemed to be a control room of sorts.  Melody gestured for her to get to one of the consoles.

“What’re you going to do?” hissed Oswin. 

To her absolute horror, Melody strode calmly out from behind the pillar.  Oswin mouthed several swears at her, but she knew exactly what her friend was doing: buying time so that _she_ could get them all out of this mess.  Grimacing slightly, she eyed the nearby console with trepidation. 

_Hope I’m smart enough to figure this out._

“Evening gents,” called Melody.  Her voice was loud and cocky, and Oswin was impressed by the lack of fear in it. 

As one, the Daleks swiveled around to face her redheaded friend.  “Another intruder,” said the nearest.  “You will answer questions or be exterminated.”

“I think you have two friends of mine,” she said.  “I’d rather be interrogated with them, if you don’t mind.”

“You are associated with the Silurian and the Sontaran?”

“I said ‘friends’, didn’t I?”

“You do not ask questions!”

“Fine, fine.”

Oswin frantically pressed buttons and pulled levers.  It was like a puzzle to her: each piece had to fit a perfect way.  Her mind connected the dots of how the machine worked, which led her to work out how the Daleks themselves worked.  Even so, it was slow going; she could hear them escorting Melody away even as she worked.  Thankfully, they didn’t seem to take her very far, because she could still hear their voices. 

“Why have you come here?”

“You had a friend of mine and were planning on converting her,” Melody answered firmly.

“Daleks do not need to justify themselves to humans.”

“No, you don’t,” said Melody.  “It’s obvious why: you need to survive somehow, and the best way to do that is to convert other species into Daleks.  What I’m wondering is: why haven’t you left Baravan yet?”

“Do not ask questions!”

“I mean, you guys are supposed to be geniuses, right?”  Melody would not be stopped.  Oswin winced, wishing her friend would give it up if it meant that they lived a little longer.  “I’m guessing this is some kind of Dalek transport.  A ship, maybe.  With all the junk here, you could easily repair it and leave the planet.  Why haven’t you?”

To Oswin’s surprise, silence met her question.  Then one Dalek said, “Why?”

“To easily leave…” said another. 

“Does not compute.”

“Not an option!”

“Daleks must rebuild.  Daleks must rebuild.”

“Daleks have no need to leave.”

“But Melody’s right,” came a cool female voice that Oswin didn’t recognize; it must’ve been the Silurian.  “It doesn’t make any sense.  Daleks are a race of conquerors; you can’t do anything by sitting here and converting prisoners.”

Before any of the Daleks could respond, however, Oswin slammed her hand down on one final button, effectively freezing all of them.  Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped out from behind the console, eyeing each of the metal-encased aliens warily, waiting for any sign that they hadn’t really been stopped.  Not one of them responded to her. 

There was an open door at the far end of the room.  Oswin’s breath caught once she went through it. 

She had stepped into some kind of amphitheater.  Rows and rows of frozen Daleks rose up before her; there were at least a few thousand of them.  A pang hit her as she wondered just how many were prisoners who were caught unawares at the junk piles, like herself.  In the center of the pit stood Melody and Strax, along with a Silurian. 

“Nicely done,” called Melody, grinning at her.  “How long will this hold them?”

“As long as I want it to,” replied Oswin.  “You’d think that they would have better defenses against hacking.”

“Most likely they believe that no other species could outsmart them,” said Vastra dryly.  “Much as I wish I didn’t have to, Oswin Oswald, I must thank you for saving my life.  However, as I put myself in danger to help you, I owe no debt to you.”

Oswin raised an eyebrow.  “Well, aren’t you the picture of kindness.  So, Melody, since the Daleks were too dumb to think of it, what say we use this ship to get out of here?”

But Melody didn’t appear to be paying attention.  She was staring intently at one of the Daleks, a deep frown on her face. 

“I meant what I asked them about,” she said slowly.  “Why didn’t they leave?  In fact, it’s something that’s been bothering me for a while now; I just kept forgetting about it.  You can’t be the only tech wiz on this planet, Oswin.  There’re probably more than a few prisoners capable of building some way out of here.  There’s no law enforcement, no guards, no nothing.  No sign of anything that would be able to stop resistance.  So why hasn’t anyone escaped?”

She spun around, pointing at Oswin.  “I mentioned escape to you when I first got here.  You said that you might have a few ideas, but you never brought it up again.  Come to think of it, neither did I.  Did you ever have any ideas?”

            “Yes, I… I did.  When I first got here.  But I can’t…”  Oswin suddenly realized what Melody was getting at.  “You think that they’ve… brainwashed us, somehow?  Made it so that we lose the will to escape?”

“It’s certainly possible,” Vastra said, looking thoughtful.  “They have the technological capabilities.  Why waste time with guards when you can simply convince the prisoners that escaping isn’t worth it?”

Oswin felt her eyes grow big as another thought occurred to her.  “Melody, remember that signal that we picked up a while back?  The one that I said I’d never seen before?”

Melody’s head whipped around to look at her.  “Do you think…?”

“Yeah.”

Excitement began to build within her.  Maybe they finally, _finally_ had the key.  “We’ll have to hurry before the brainwashing starts to take over again, and we forget about this.  The Dalek’s will stay frozen, so they shouldn’t be able to harm anyone.  Let’s get out of here.”

As they made their way out of the ship, Melody said, “I don’t know if it will take over again.  Maybe it’s one of those things where when you realize it’s happening, it doesn’t work anymore.”

Oswin snorted.  “What, like a Jedi mind trick?”

“You’ve watched Star Wars?” Melody asked, rolling her eyes.

“Too old-school for you?”

“No, it’s just… they made some new ones in 2015.  They were… all right, I guess, but I was never that fond of them.”

“Oh.  Hopefully they didn’t ruin them.”

Another few steps, another corner, and they were out in the light of day once more.  Oswin felt a shudder pass through her; never had she been gladder to see Baravan’s dirty, cluttered surface. 

***

“I didn’t exactly work on the prisons,” said the Doctor, “but I know the basics.  There are designated planets in each sector of the galaxy where certain species are transported to.  The one with human prisoners is Baravan, which also serves as a junkyard for Gallifrey.”

“So we’re lumped in with the trash?”  Rose folded her arms.  “Bloody brilliant.”

“The way that prisoners are taken there is a very careful system,” continued the Doctor.  “The next TARDIS shipment has to be directly after the last one in the prison planet’s timeline.  If not, there would be all sorts of nasty paradoxes tearing apart the universe.  They don’t care which time period the prisoners are from though, since the prisoners aren’t exactly going to get back to their homes and tell everyone about their planet’s future.”

He pointed out a spot on the galaxy map that Rose had outlined for him.  “This, however, is the part that I don’t know about.  All prisoners on Baravan are transported here before they’re taken to Baravan.  I don’t know why.”

“Registration, maybe?” suggested Rose. 

“It’s possible.”  The dark look on his face suggested that he suspected different motives, however. 

Inwardly, Rose was thrilled.  She had never before made this much headway on Operation Cracking the Egg before, the goal of which was to find a way to bust open the numerous prison planets in the universe— nearly all of which held Torchwood members that they had lost in the past, as well as many potential recruits.  Rose had eagerly taken over the project.  Officially, her reason had been for the good of Torchwood, but a small part of her still held hope that her father might be held on one. 

“That might be the stop where we lost contact with Jake,” she said, frowning at the highlighted place that the Doctor had pointed out.  “Seems like it might be worth checking out.  Think we could sneak in there with a Vortex Manipulator?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes.  “With that cheapo device?  I can do you one better.”

“No offense mate, but your TARDIS is a bit conspicuous,” she said, biting her tongue and grinning.  Judging by the look on his face, he was very much offended. 

She had to admit it: having the Doctor around was doing her a world of good.  Before, she certainly believed that her work was worthwhile, but it had seemed endless and exhausting.  She had friends, but rarely saw them owing to the fact that they worked in different departments.  She seemed to be the only one that the Doctor was willing to help, and his presence really did cheer her up.  She still took her work seriously, but now it was easier to bear the burden of it. 

“I’ll have you know,” he began hotly, “that—“

“The TARDIS actually has class, very few people have taken notice of her, she’s gorgeous and much safer than a Manipulator, she’s the best way to travel in the universe,” Rose droned, almost grinning again when she saw his withering glare. 

“ _And,_ ” he said through gritted teeth, “she’s—“

“Blue, you love that blue, it’s a fantastic blue.”

“You have been spending way too much time with me,” he accused, jabbing a finger at her. 

“Then go help Jack,” she said, shrugging.  “Or ask Harriet to assign you something else.  You could drive field agents to their locations.  Don’t give me that look, you’re the one who bloody attached yourself to my hip once you decided to stay.”

“The TARDIS—“

“Made you stay.  I know.  Whatever helps you sleep at night, love.”

She enjoyed their banter.  She suspected that he did as well, but she doubted that she would get him to admit that anytime soon. 

He huffed and looked away from her, muttering under his breath.  Rose smiled at him cheekily before activating her communicator and asking if Sally was available.  Soon enough, the kindhearted (but fierce) woman’s voice emitted from her comm unit. 

“What d’you need, Rose?”

“I hate to ask after you were stuck in New York for so long,” Rose started, “but are you up for a little more field work?  I’d ask someone else, but Kathy’s back in the 51st Century, Jack just left to help her out again, and most of the others are either trying to find victims of the Angel attack or dealing with the situation at Stormcage.”

“Yeah, no problem,” answered Sally.  “I’ll head right down.”

Once she’d finished, she turned back to the Doctor.  “I’ve decided that yes, we will be taking your TARDIS.  But only if you can guarantee me a stealth landing, even by Time Lord standards.”

He nodded shortly.  “That I can do.”

Moments later, Sally walked into the small cavern, nodding at the Doctor and waving at Rose.  “Where am I off to?”

“Where are we off to,” corrected Rose ignoring Sally’s surprised look.  “We’re heading to a relatively unknown location because it’s a loose end in what we know about the prisons.  We’ll be taking the Doctor’s TARDIS, which is supposedly safer than a Manipulator.”

“There’s no ‘supposedly’ about it,” mumbled the Doctor. 

“Travelling in a real TARDIS without fearing for my life,” said Sally with a wry smile.  “That’ll be a first.”

***

“I’ll not be partaking in whatever madness the two of you are on about,” Vastra said curtly.  “If you don’t mind, I will return to my home.”

Melody knew that she should have felt angry, or saddened, but she was too pumped up on adrenaline to really care.  “If that’s what you want,” she said tentatively.  She didn’t watch the Silurian stalk away, her head held high, but she was still acutely aware of the sword pressing to her side.  Even if Vastra didn’t want to help them, she couldn’t help but respect and be grateful to her. 

Oswin was already inside their little shop, frantically building a signal disruptor.  Melody, meanwhile, was switching the signal reader back on in order to find the radio wave that she had spotted before.  This time, if she looked closer, she was able to see that it was unique to any other radio signal because it was actually made up of millions of tiny signals. 

“One for each of us,” she breathed. 

“What?” asked Oswin, bouncing around her like a monkey as she connected her disruptor with the reader using a spare cable.  The disruptor flared to life at once, a copy of the image on the screen.  “Yeah, you’re right.  I’d need to isolate our signals in order to disrupt them, but that’s easy enough.  I can only do two at a time, though.”

They both looked at each other, then at Strax, who straightened.  “I volunteer to go after you both.”

“Are you sure?” Melody asked cautiously, alternating between glancing at Oswin and Strax.  “You’ve known each other far longer…”

“Don’t insult my honor, boy!”

Melody raised both her hands.  “Didn’t mean to insult anyone’s honor.”

“I’ve got it!” exclaimed Oswin excitedly.  She raised her gaze to Melody’s, eyes shining with excitement.  “Do you realize what this means?  We could end it all.  We could get people off of the prison planets with this, and you’re the one who realized it, Melody.  I’d say that about makes you a mauve.”

“Don’t praise it ‘till you’ve tried it,” warned Melody, but she couldn’t help the giddy smile that appeared on her face.  “Mauve, really?  Hooray for us mauves, then.”

They stood facing each other, scarcely able to believe it.  Once the signal was disrupted, it could all be over.  They could get everyone off this godforsaken planet.  The chance of seeing her parents again, which had seemed so far away before, suddenly looked closer than ever. 

“Ready?” Oswin asked. 

“Ready.”  On impulse, Melody grabbed her friend’s hand. 

With them both taking a deep breath, Oswin pressed the button and activated the disruptor. 

Everything went black.  


	8. Chapter Seven: One for a Million

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh. I'm actually caught up to where I am on Fanfiction right now, and because of NaNo this story won't be updated for some time. However, I will be updating it eventually. Hopefully. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's been following this story. Especially to Azzie, who has been supporting it from the beginning. *Blows kisses*

 

Melody felt like she was floating. 

The sensation only lasted for a second, but it seemed to her that every particle within her was separating and that she was only able to hold herself together through sheer force of will.  It was terrifying— like she might fly away and never again be able to put herself back together again.

Then it was over, and she felt the sensation of something solid against her back.  There were things stuck to her temples, her forehead, her wrists and ankles.  Her heart, too, had something covering it. 

She blinked open her eyes and saw green.  It covered everything in an emerald film; there were what looked like a row of windows across from her, but she couldn’t see through them.  Weakly, she reached out hand and encountered something solid.  Glass, maybe?  She was looking through green glass. 

For the first time, she realized that she was being held upright in a narrow cubicle.  She began tearing stickies off of her body, realizing that there was a cluster of wires all around her.  Claustrophobia made bile rise into her throat; it was as though she were in an upright coffin or sarcophagus.  She began hitting her palms against the glass, furiously trying to get out. 

To her surprise, the front swiveled outward with a hiss rather like a door.  Cautiously, she took a step forward and nearly collapsed due to the weakness in her limbs.  It felt like she hadn’t moved in months.  She found herself wondering why she didn’t feel at all hungry or thirsty, but she couldn’t afford to dwell on that now.  She turned around to find that her own prison was lined up alongside many others.  Unlike the ones across from her, she could see inside these ones, which were full of numerous other aliens.  Melody didn’t recognize any, but she figured that they had to be fellow prisoners on Baravan. 

“Stasis chambers,” came a hoarse voice from down the row.  Melody stumbled towards it, recognizing it as Oswin’s.  Her friend was leaning against a strange-looking computer terminal, looking as though she, too, was struggling to hold herself up.  “Luckily, this place has teleportation, or else it would’ve taken me ages to get to you.  It’s massive.”

Melody stared.  Oswin was no longer wearing her signature red dress, but was instead dressed in a red skirt, leggings, and a black leather jacket.  It was fashion from the year that she’d come from: 2013.  Looking down, Melody realized that she was wearing the t-shirt and jeans that she’d been arrested in.  She reached up to touch her hair; it was long again, and in the ponytail it had been in before it got cut. 

“Was it all an illusion?” she asked.  Her own voice was raspy, too.  “Where are we?”

“Beats me,” said Oswin.  “Some kind of huge space station.  I’ve been through the databanks; every prisoner I’ve ever met on Baravan is here.  I’m trying to figure out what they did to us now.  I just need a minute to catch my breath.”

She sank to the floor slowly.  Melody, noticing that her legs were trembling, did the same. 

“So, what’s a stasis chamber?” she asked. 

“It’s meant to keep us alive,” Oswin explained.  “Time Lord technology.  Basically, they make it so that time doesn’t pass inside there.  You don’t age, you don’t get hungry, you don’t get thirsty.  At least, that’s the gist of it.  I didn’t bother to look into it too much once I understood the basics.”

“And in the meantime, our unconscious minds were dreaming of Baravan?”  Melody shook her head.  “No wonder we had no inclination to escape.  It would’ve been easy to program us that way.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense either,” countered Oswin.  “Why have us all sharing the dream?  Why not just give us the illusion that we’re still living normal life back on Earth?  Then we wouldn’t think about escaping at all.  Why convince us that we’re living on a prison planet?”

Oswin stared blankly at the floor for a few moments before hoisting herself to her feet.  “I’m going to keep digging.”

An alarming thought occurred to Melody.  “If they bring prisoners here, won’t they find us?”

“Nah.  I checked; the newest prisoners are put in chambers a long way away from this area.”

Melody felt as though a light bulb appeared over her head.  “Can you get video surveillance on there?”

Oswin gave her a quizzical look.  “Yeah.  Why?”

With what felt like a tremendous effort, Melody pushed herself up.  “We can use it to see what it is they do to us when we arrive.”

Oswin’s jaw dropped.  “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”  She scrambled around the terminal, typing in something quickly.  The screen above them fizzled to life, showing them footage of the arrival of the newest prisoners. 

The Time Lord police were carrying them, unconscious.  They were thrown unceremoniously in a heap next to a machine that looked rather like an operating table.  Melody and Oswin watched as the first prisoner was carried over and hooked up to multiple wires, not unlike what they had both pulled off themselves after waking up.  Next to the machine was a great big vat of… something.  Melody couldn’t tell what it was. 

The moment the Time Lords were finished one of them moved out of view and must have activated something, because the next thing Melody knew the vat began to bubble furiously.  It was like watching some kind of terrible science fiction movie; first a hand appeared out of the brew, then an arm, then an entire body.  It was an exact copy of the prisoner on the table, right down to the stitch of clothing.  Like the original, the clone was unconscious.  The Time Lords pulled the copy from the basin and dragged him out of the room, out of view.  Very soon, the original was taken off the machine, too. 

Oswin switched off the video, looking ill. 

It took Melody a while to get some words out, but she finally managed it.  “They _cloned_ us?”

“I don’t think so,” Oswin said, now typing frantically.  “That’s too simple.  A clone has its own thoughts, dreams and emotions, but we definitely felt like us on Baravan.  So we really were on a different planet, just… not in our bodies.  Ah!  Here we go: the Flesh project.  Good thing they have archives.”

“What is it?”

“Listen to this: ‘To ensure the safety and docility of prisoners of Gallifrey, a new program will be implemented for the holding and control of them.  Using advanced technology sanctioned by the President, the Flesh have been introduced.  It is a type of matter that can be manipulated in any way chosen and can harbor a living mind until such time that the connection between the Flesh body and the living body is terminated.  The mind of the prisoner is also susceptible to outside suggestions; this will be used to dissuade any from escape attempts or too much violence against other prisoners.’”

“I don’t think that last one worked,” muttered Melody, remembering all the fights.  “Who knew that the Time Lords would go to all this trouble?”

“But it’s like you said.”  Oswin sat down again.  “This way, there isn’t any need for guards and such.  Time Lords are vain; none of them want to waste all their time with prisoners.  They’re so confident that it works, they don’t even have a security system here, either.”

“For me it was a few months,” Melody murmured.  “For you, three years.  What about the people who were there for ages?  Wouldn’t they have realized that something was wrong when they didn’t age?”

“That was probably something else that they programmed our Flesh bodies to ignore,” Oswin said wryly. 

“They did have to feed us,” Melody pointed out.

“An automated system.  I checked.  Flesh are meant to act like living bodies, apart from the aging thing.”

Melody took a deep breath.  Her head was reeling from all that she’d learned in the past few hours alone.  The idea of prison had always seemed straightforward to her, but it had suddenly become a lot of more complicated.  She suddenly felt angry; the Time Lords didn’t even think it was worth their time to keep an eye on their prisoners.  Well then— whatever happened next, it was on them. 

“We have to figure out how to free everyone else,” she said. 

Oswin nodded.  “You’re right.  There’s no point if it’s just the two of us.  I’ve pulled up a map of the facility.  There’s a room that looks like the main control room near the top of the place.  I’ll head there and see what I can do.  Meanwhile, you should head to the communications room and see if you can’t get into contact with someone who might be willing to come help us.”  She pointed at another spot on the map, which was far on the right.  “The nearest teleportation point to it is here.  If you get over to the ‘porter, I can send you there now.”

“Got it.”  Melody hurried over to where Oswin pointed, noticing the teleporter for the first time.  She stepped inside it, feeling as though she was in Star Trek.  She gave Oswin the thumbs up.

“See you later,” Oswin said, pressing the button. 

***

The Doctor glanced at Sally and Rose out of the corner of his eye.  Rose didn’t seem to be the least bit bothered by the TARDIS’ interior.  She seemed right at home, despite the fact that a spaceship that was alive usually disturbed people.  Sally, on the other hand, was looking every which way as though determined to find some kind of trap or hidden soldiers.  She was far too wary for her age. 

_Smart girl,_ he thought. 

After all, if either of them knew exactly who it was that they were travelling with, they probably wouldn’t be so willing to let him live.  Well, maybe Rose would, but Sally would shoot him down in a second.  He decided that if ever there was a time when he needed that to happen, he could count on Sally to help him.  Even now she was watching him darting around the console, her hand twitching towards the blaster that they both knew she kept in her pocket. 

She was the most distrustful person he had encountered from Torchwood— which meant that something had happened to her that was worse than what had happened to the others. 

He checked the monitor in time to see that they had arrived at their destination.  Mentally, he prepared for the plunge; after this, his people would have the proof they finally needed to prove him a traitor.  If they had not already betrayed the universe itself, he might have felt guilty about it. 

“Right!” he exclaimed.  Rose turned her attention to him (he had Sally’s already— in fact, he suspected that he’d had it from the moment she’d met him).  “Welcome to… whatever it is we’re on.  There’s some long, complicated Gallifreyan designation for it, but we don’t really have time to go over that, so I’m just going to call it Satellite Five.”

“It’d have to be broadcasting some kind of signal for it to be a satellite, wouldn’t it?” asked Rose, joining him at the console. 

He grinned at her, unable to help it.  No matter how naïve he thought her, he couldn’t deny that she brightened his day like no one else.  “Exactly— and it is.  Not just one signal, though; there’s about a million different ones being sent out as we speak.  And they’re all being sent to…”

“Baravan?” Sally guessed. 

“Right again,” said the Doctor.  One thing he could say about Torchwood: they weren’t stupid.  Unless you counted that they were willing to fight the Time Lords.  “So, let’s have a look outside, shall we?”

He almost offered Rose his arm on an impulse, but he managed to restrain himself.  Those days— the days when he brought humans along with him for the ride, to enjoy adventuring through time and space— were long gone.  They no longer even existed since history had been rewritten by the Time Lords, but he could still remember them all: Ian, Barbara, Sarah Jane, Ace, Romana (she remembered it too, but… his gut twisted), Jo, Polly, Leela… they were all still there, in his memory alone.  But this wasn’t some exotic planet that he could share with Rose, as much as he wished it was. 

She would have loved it, he knew.  He could’ve taken her to so many places, to so many wonderful times in Earth’s history.  He wanted to see the radiant smile that would appear on her face when she got to try a new kind of food, or meet a fascinating species of alien, or see a wondrous monument.  In all the time that he’d known her, he’d never gotten to see a full-blown smile from her.  It was always a little half-smile that she usually only gave when he made some kind of joke.  He’d even bring Jack along, if it made her happier.  Or Mickey. 

Not Jackie, though; the line had to be drawn somewhere. 

Rose nodded at his suggestion, heading for the doors (though not before she drew her own gun, he noticed with a pang) and slipping outside.  Sally remained, staring at him. 

“This is sick,” she said in a low voice.  “I don’t know where you get off making it sound like some kind of adventure, because it’s not.”

“I know that,” he snapped, glowering at her.  “I fought in the war, remember?  Don’t think I don’t know about life and death, Sally Sparrow.  I’ve already learned that it’s not something you want to hold in the palm of your hand.”

“I’m not sure you have.”  Sally sighed, tugging on her ponytail.  “Look, I know that Rose seems like the last person to be fighting a war, but she’s been through more than most of us.  There’s a reason why she’s in such an important position in our ranks.  But it’s not my story to tell; I’ll let her explain it to you.  The point is you can’t keep treating her like a child.”

“I’m not—“

“You are,” said Sally.  “I see it every time you look at her.  You’re idolizing what you believe to be her innocence, but you’re wrong.  What she has— what’s making you so smitten with her— it’s not innocence.  It’s _hope._ ”

He wasn’t usually one for silences, but for once he couldn’t think of anything to say. 

“You still don’t get it,” she said.  “I shouldn’t be surprised.  Time Lords: most hopeless species in the galaxy.  You’ve nothing left to look forward to.”

Still stunned, he opened his mouth, then closed it again.  When no words were forthcoming, he got himself together as best as he could and marched out after Rose, aware of Sally’s footsteps behind him and her gaze burning into his back. 

When he didn’t see Rose right away he nearly panicked, but Sally’s words came back as though mocking him and he forced himself to calm down.  He caught sight of her quickly, walking past a row of green-tinted glass with a look of horror mixed with morbid fascination on her face.  He moved closer to one of the windows as well, and felt his gut wrench when he realized that there was a _person_ inside. 

It wasn’t hard to figure out what the set up was for once he took out his sonic screwdriver.  “Flesh technology.”

“Come again?” asked Sally. 

“The Flesh,” he repeated.  “Long story short, it’s a bunch of goop that can create exact copies of any DNA it comes into contact with.  The real body is kept unconscious and the mind is transported into the Flesh body through a signal.  Must be what all the signals coming from Satellite Five are for.”

“So… they copied the prisoners,” Rose said slowly, “And sent the copies to Baravan.  Why?”

“The body itself isn’t the only thing that can be programmed using the Flesh,” said the Doctor.  At least, that was the case with the Time Lord version of the Flesh.  The human version that he remembered from the original timeline had had no such capabilities. 

“They were able to brainwash the copies,” Sally surmised.  “Into doing… what, exactly?”

“I dunno,” he replied.  “But the Time Lords must be pretty confident that no one would ever cut the connection and set them all free.”

“Arrogance?” asked Sally. 

The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but Rose beat him to it. 

“Maybe,” she said.  “Or maybe they really do have something else under their sleeve.  I’ll tell you one thing, though: there doesn’t seem to be anyone else here.”

“Easy enough,” called the Doctor.  “I can check communications from the TARDIS.”

“Yeah,” agreed Rose.  “Or…”

She pulled out her tablet and held it up to her comm device.  “Mickey’s had this rigged to get into any nearby communications automatically.”

For a moment, all they could hear was static.  The Doctor was certain that they would get nothing, unless you counted the Time Lords dropping off new prisoners, but to his surprise a woman’s voice spoke up through the crackling.  She was speaking quickly, so she was a bit difficult to make out at first.

“…can’t get in, and I’ve tried everything.  The problem is that the matrix keeps changing every time I try to hack into it, so basically I’d have to have six arms in order to keep up with the changes long enough to actually gain access.  On top of that, the passcode would be Gallifreyan, which neither of us can speak in the first place..."

“Well, I don’t have anything to say that sounds nearly as smart as all that,” came another woman’s voice.  “Just that the communications room looks very pretty, and I’m having no luck getting into contact with anyone.”

Rose let the connection go, turning to face Sally and the Doctor.  “Escapees?” she asked. 

It shouldn’t have been possible; it would take immense willpower to overcome any brainwashing techniques that the Time Lords used, but he was already figuring out that human beings were experts at defying the odds. 

“We should listen in a little more before we take any action,” Sally advised.  “Just in case.”

Rose nodded, brandishing her tablet like a weapon once more.

***

“Come on!” Oswin yelled, her voice echoing through the communications room.  Melody winced. 

“Hey, I’m not having any luck either,” she said, “but I’m not trying to blow your eardrums off, am I?”  Pressing the button once again, she spoke into the microphone: “This is Melody Pond, former Baravan prisoner.  We are in need of rescue immediately.  Please respond.”

Nothing but static.

She felt a little foolish because really— who in their right mind was going to help a prisoner of the Time Lords?  Still, she had to keep trying; there was no way that she was going to die on some space station in the middle of nowhere.  At the very least, she wasn’t about to let Oswin down.  It sounded to her as though Oswin could use a little good news; she’d clearly never been stumped like this before. 

“Wait, so it’s _not_ a passcode?” Oswin muttered, probably more to herself than Melody.  “ _Oh…”_

“What?”

“Oh.”

Sighing, Melody repeated herself and added, “You want to tell me what’s going on, or are you going to keep oh-ing?”

Very quietly, Oswin said, “I’ve made a mistake.”

Melody waited for her friend to continue. 

“I assumed that there would just be a passcode to access the controls to the Flesh.  But there’s a failsafe, because the Time Lords didn’t even trust themselves.  No way around it that I can see.  I was thinking it over earlier: why wasn’t there more security in the space station, at least?  What if rebels happened to stumble on it with the goal of freeing everyone?  Why were the Time Lords so confident that no one would ever be able to do it?”

“What d’you mean?”

“Time Lords are vain, Melody.”  Oswin sounded… afraid?  That couldn’t be right.  “I guess that they think that no one would be willing, since none of them would ever do it…”

“Can you just tell me, Oswin?” Melody said, more loudly.  Something in her voice was making her anxious. 

“The central computer will only accept one thing in order to deactivate all the Flesh avatars and free the prisoners,” explained Oswin. 

“Which is?”

“A life.”

Stunned, Melody fell silent.  There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, like the ground was falling out from beneath her as she realized just what it was that Oswin intended.  Distantly she wondered if Oswin had suspected this all along, and that that was why she had insisted that they split up.  She was certainly brilliant enough to guess that it would happen. 

“Oswin,” she said, finding her voice at last and trying to ignore the way it trembled.  “No.  I know what you’re thinking, but you… you don’t have to do that.  Just… we’ll meet up somewhere else.  We’ll figure something else out.  Either that or…or… wait for me there.  I’m coming right now.”

She stood and hurried to the door, only to find it wouldn’t budge.

“Oswin!” she shouted, her composure breaking completely.  “Open this damn door!”

“Don’t you see, Melody?” Oswin asked, as though Melody hadn’t spoken at all.  “The Time Lords are vain.  They’d never dream of giving up one of their regenerations, even if it was to free millions of lives from a lie.  One life ending to jumpstart a million others.  It’s worth dying for, but they’d never see it because they don’t understand that.”

“Stop it!”

“There’s some kind of terminal that I’m supposed to put my hand in.”  Her voice was trembling too.  “I wonder if it’ll hurt.”

“Oswin please, just listen,” begged Melody.  She sank to her knees, staring at the ceiling as though it could offer some sort of reassurance.  “You can’t do this.  We were going to escape together, remember?  We were going to go and find our families once we got out.  I want to meet your mum.  She sounds like a fantastic woman.  And all those stories you told me about your dad.  You have to be able to see them again.  Remember that?”

“Melody, my family’s dead.”

A feeling of horror and helplessness settled into Melody’s bones.  No wonder Oswin had become so hesitant whenever Melody talked about escaping to get back to her parents.  No wonder Oswin had been desperate enough to do something like dismantle the government with one computer.  No wonder she had never questioned Melody’s own actions in attacking Yvonne Hartman. 

No wonder she was willing to give up her life so readily now. 

“Mum went quietly,” Oswin continued.  “She got ill.  Pancreatic cancer.  There’s almost no chance of surviving it.  Dad… got taken.  To Africa, apparently.  I never saw him alive again, but I eventually received a formal notice that he was dead.  The body came back two days later.  What they did to him… I don’t know, but it was definitely him.”

“You don’t have to do this!” insisted Melody.  “Just let me come up there, and we’ll figure something else out.  We’re friends, Oswin.  I _need_ you, here, with me.  I can’t just keep going alone.”

“You can,” snapped Oswin.  “You have to.  This is my decision; you can’t make it for me.  Listen…”

“Shut up!” Melody all but screamed.  “Just shut up!”

“My real name— it’s—“

“No, stop!”

“Clara.  Clara Oswald.  I wanted you to know it before there was no one else to tell you.”

Melody let out a sob.  They were hysterical tears, because how could you feel sadness for something that hadn’t happened yet?  Clara Clara Clara.  That name was going to ring in her ears for the rest of her life, she knew.  Clarity, light… it fit her so perfectly.  Oswin— Clara— had always been able to see what the right thing to do was far better than Melody ever did.  She could picture Clara now, standing in front of the terminal with a white but determined face, her brown eyes shining more brightly than they ever had on Baravan. 

“It should be me,” she gasped out.  “Clara, it should be _me._   What have I suffered, compared to you?”

“No, it shouldn’t,” Clara said.  She sounded calmer now.  “We both know that.  I can’t waste any more time, Melody.”

Something was in her chest, ripping her heart to shreds.  “Please…”

“Good luck, Melody.  Goodbye.”

In that instant, Melody could feel a great big thrum throughout the space station.  It seemed to swell and grow, and she knew that it was the minds of the prisoners being returned.  To her, however, it sounded like a clamoring wail of mourning as the brightest star in her life suddenly, irrevocably, flickered out. 

***

There was a shocked silence as the comm chatter stopped. 

Before Rose could even think of how to react, she was blinded as every one of the containers suddenly emitted a bright light, followed by a loud humming sound.  She shielded her eyes as best as she could, dimly aware of Sally’s alarmed shout.  When her vision cleared once again, she could see disoriented prisoners climbing from their pods, looking around in confusion.  Murmurs echoed through the room. 

She knew she should be feeling triumphant, and she did, but it was tainted by what she had just heard.  That the Time Lords would go so far as to demand a life for freeing the prisoners… actually, that didn’t surprise her so much.  Still, she was startled by the wave of sadness that swept over her, even though she had barely known the woman.  Oswin, Clara, whatever her name was. 

She knew that someone had to take action, though. 

She set up a connection to Torchwood headquarters.  “Operation Cracking the Egg has been a success.  I repeat, Operation Cracking the Egg is a success.”

“You serious?” came Larry’s surprised voice. 

“Yeah, I am.  We’re gonna need a lot of transport, though.  There are about a million prisoners here.”

The Doctor seemed to snap out of his reverie at that.  “I can take about a thousand at a time,” he said.  “I could probably get them all out of here at once, but that’d take a while.  Unless…!”

He darted off to who knew where.  Rose pressed the button on her communicator again.  “Hold that thought.” 

Before she could hurry off after him, her comm unit beeped again, and a distorted voice said, “Bad wolf.”  She huffed; it was the twentieth time she’d gotten that message.  Hadn’t Larry fixed it yet?

She couldn’t afford to dwell on it for long; instead, she ran after the Doctor. 

“If I’m right,” he said to her, “then it’ll be easy to get everyone out of here.  This space station was built with Time Lord technology, right?”

“You’d know better than I would.”

“Well, it is,” he said.  “So there’s probably some kind of emergency transport system in the main control room.”

Rose’s jaw dropped.  “What?  For something this huge?”

They wove in and out of the prisoners as they spoke, ignoring the strange looks that they got.  “Don’t you get it, Rose?  It’s a Time Lord space station.  So it’s _bigger on the inside._ ”

***

There was only one word to describe the main control room: beautiful.

It was an artistic technological achievement.  The computer core glowed a bright green, as did the many wires that snaked out from it.  Various terminals surrounded her, all giving off soft, colorful lights.  They illuminated the body on the floor in front of her, making it look as though it were just slumbering. 

She could see the spot where Clara must have placed her hand.  For a very brief moment the idea had occurred to her that she could put her hand there, too, but her instinct for survival derailed that train of thought quickly. 

Her cheeks felt slightly sticky from dried tears.  Melody sat, hugging her knees to her chest, staring at the body of someone who had quickly become a lifeline for her.  Thoughts clamored for attention in her head, but she batted them away like flies, unable to look away from Clara Oswald.  A part of her wanted to reach out and stroke Clara’s hair, as though that would offer any comfort, but the rest of her screamed in protest against the action.  To touch the body would mean that it was real— that Clara was, indeed, dead. 

_How did it come to this?_ she wondered distantly.  _I just got her back.  Don’t take her away from me.  Not again._

“I wondered if I might find you in the middle of it.”

Melody didn’t acknowledge the voice, though she recognized it dimly as Vastra’s.  The Silurian padded almost silently to stand next to her, staring down at Clara’s still form.  Melody expected to hear wariness and hostility in Vastra’s voice, but there was only a quiet respect. 

“She did it to save us all,” she said.  “She barely knew us.  We shunned her.  And she did it anyway, even though we hardly deserve it.”

“You’re right,” Melody said hoarsely.  “You don’t.”

She was aware of Vastra looking at her, probably with pity.  “Melody—“

“Get out.”

There was a pause, then a soft shuffle told her that Vastra (while she didn’t leave) backed away a respectful distant and began a vigil alongside her. 

Several times, Melody looked down at her chest and was surprised to see that there wasn’t a gaping, bloody hole where her heart should’ve been.  It felt like there was.  It had felt like it was bleeding out of her chest while she grieved on her knees in the communications room, repeatedly calling out Clara’s name into the microphone in the vain hope of an answer.  It was worse than when her grandfather had died; at least then, there was someone to be angry at, someone to blame.  Now, however, she had little choice but to redirect that anger inward, at herself.  _It should’ve been me.  It should’ve been me.  Why wasn’t it me?_

Gradually, she became aware that someone was kneeling beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders and guiding her up.  She struggled furiously when she realized what was happening (“I won’t leave her!”), and it took the other person slapping her to stop her.  While she stared in shock at the blond woman in front of her, the woman said, “We’re taking her with us, don’t worry.  She deserves a proper ceremony.”

And so Melody was taken away, out of that awful room, past hundreds of oblivious prisoners celebrating their freedom, past a man in a leather jacket who looked at her curiously, past another blond woman with slightly longer and dirtier hair, and into a blue box.

The moment she was inside, she was greeted by a sudden warmth in the air, as though someone was trying to wrap their arms around her.  Without warning, exhaustion overcame her and she collapsed, grateful for the oblivion.  


End file.
